The Executive Director of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has called for a review of the status of the country’s legislative body in the 1992 Constitution.

H. Kwesi Prempeh in an opinion piece described the current supreme laws of the land as the “worst” constitution of Ghana’s political history.

Comparing the 2nd Republican Constitution [1969], to that of the Fourth Republic, Mr Prempeh stated that “Ghana had a fixed number of the constituency and the job of an MP [Members of Parliament] was not treated as a full-time position; MPs received a sitting allowance for attendance, but not a salary.”

He, therefore, questioned why law-makers of the Fourth Republic claim to work “full-time” when most of them, with the permission of the Speaker, continue to operate their private business.

“So, how exactly are our MPs working for us full-time as MPs? And what have they done for us lately? Note that, every single international commercial transaction or agreement we have entered into in the 4th Republic, including those that have led to breaches and judgment debts, was once approved by our MPs in Parliament,” he opined.

Mr Prempeh further quizzed “How many bad deals have our Parliament saved us from since 1993? How many scandals have they unearthed through oversight? How many findings and recommendations contained in Auditor-General’s Reports have our MPs caused to be implemented? How many billions of cedis or dollars have our MPs saved us since 1993?”

The Executive Director further stated that the nature of the 1992 constitution instead of serving the people's interest, fuels classism and inequality.

“Frankly, other than the Constitution of the First Republic, this constitution is, from governance and a people-centered perspective, easily the worst constitution in our political history.

“It is also the most profligate, in the sense that it invites wasteful growth in the size of government and in public expenditures. No wonder it has both attracted and spawned a political class in its own image.”

Touching on why the 1992 constitution has been operationalised for so long, Mr Prempeh said, Ghanaians are tired of coup d’états and the ravaging effects that come with it.

“The longevity of this constitution is not because there is something intrinsically superior or great about the constitution itself; there isn’t at all. But this should not mean we must continue to put up with whatever is served us in the name of the constitution.

“[It’s] Time to fix the constitution in the many places where it is irredeemably broken,” he was categorical.