Tanko Computer backs comprehensive review of 1992 Constitution

Deputy Director of Elections and Information Technology of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rashid Tanko Computer, says Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is due for a comprehensive review to address shortcomings that have emerged after more than three decades of operation. He said the government is committed to the constitutional reform process and believes several recommendations previously outlined in a government White Paper have already informed its current position. Mr Tanko Computer said the Constitution has “come of age” and must be reviewed to make Ghana’s democratic and administrative arrangements more responsive to current realities, he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday. “Government means business in trying to give us a very revised Constitution because if you look at our Constitution, the one we have operated for almost 30 years plus, it has come of age.

It needs to be revised; we need to review it properly and look at it. ” Mr Tanko Computer said any proposed changes to local government administration must take into account the fact that Ghana operates a unitary presidential executive system, rather than a federal system. His comments come amid discussions about proposals for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), including calls for political parties to participate openly in such elections. He argued that arrangements of that nature could function more effectively within a federal system, where powers and responsibilities are constitutionally distributed between central and sub-national governments. “What TUC is talking of can work effectively under federalism, which we are not operating. This country is not under federal system,” he said. According to him, Ghana’s current political structure requires careful…