Former Senior UN Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah has called for a proper review of the 1992 Constitution that will strip the Executive of what he describes as “excessive power".

As part of the many governance reforms he proposed, the Co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), also called on the current administration to drastically cut down on the size of government.

He noted that the size of the Akufo-Addo government is a "waste" that is putting undue pressure on the country's fragile economy.

The call for review of the country's constitution is not new.

Activists and many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in recent times have pushed for a re-evaluation of the 1992 Constitution to one that suits and represents the aspirations of the Ghanaian people today.

So in an interview with JoyNews at the sidelines of the 5th edition of the National Security Seminar series at the University of Professional Studies on Wednesday, Professor Agyeman-Duah described the 1992 Constitution as outdated and reiterated the urgent need for reform.

“There are several aspects of the Constitution that needs to be changed including excessive powers heaped on the presidency, wide discretionary powers of public officials to do things, the bloated government that we have, and many others,” he said.

The four years term length stipulated for presidents and members of parliament in a given term is an aspect of the Constitution that has been debated upon by many including former President John Kuffour who made a case for a longer-term length during the last days of his second term arguing, that four years is essentially not enough for any government to deliver on their promises.

Supporting that argument, Prof Agyeman-Duah noted that the revision will be good for the country.

However, he added that if a determination is made in a future constitutional reform to increase the term length, there must be a mechanism to check and prevent possible abuse by the political class.

“If you give a longer tenure then you should have a mechanism to check and stop bad presidents. So if you have ten or eight years it doesn't mean that you should wait for that to elapse and allow them (politicians) to do whatever they like no.

“There should be a mechanism for impeachment. There should be an easier mechanism of recall like in Britain,” he opined.

Amidst a rather charged political environment in an unstable region, the former Senior UN Advisor urged the citizenry not to take up arms, but to mobilise themselves and vote the way they want in the 2024 general elections.

“If the advice (to cut down the size of government) is not taken, people who are not happy should mobilise themselves towards the elections and vote the way they want,” the CDD Co-founder said.