The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has expressed doubt about the ability of the Constitution Review Commission to assemble concerns of Ghanaians in a holistic manner for the proposed constitutional amendment. Senior Researcher, Dr. John Kwabena Kwakye observes the time and logistics available to the commission are inadequate to reach majority of the citizenry especially at the grassroot level. At a public forum in Kumasi on proposed amendments to the 1992 Constitution, he suggested a mop-up exercise to collate views of more people to make the exercise truly reflective of the people’s aspirations. The forum was jointly organized by the I.E.A. and the United Nations Democracy Fund. It is complementing the efforts of the Constitution Review Commission which has ended a nationwide exercise on the proposed amendments. The Commission, set up by President Mills in January this year, is mandated, among others, to solicit proposals from Ghanaians on the strength and weakness of the 1992 Constitution. It will make recommendations to the government for consideration and provide a draft bill on the amendments. According to officials, over 60 thousand proposals have been received since the completion of its nationwide public hearing last month. Dr. Kwakye says the IEA-UNDF nationwide initiative is equally important to give Ghanaians greater opportunity to contribute to the amendment process. He believes, for instance, the presidential system of government Ghana is practicing needs to be reviewed, stating that “the IEA is still going around the country from region to region; the purpose of this discussion is to bring democracy really to the doors of the grassroot because most often their voices are not heard…. What we are doing is to complement the work that they [commission] did.’’ Meanwhile, some participants at the forum proposed, among other things, the inclusion of provisions in the constitution to reserve at least 5 per cent of parliamentary seats for persons with disability. According to the proponents, this would ensure the interest of physically-challenged are adequately catered for. Story by Kofi Asante Ennin/Nhyira Fm/Ghana