GOVT IS COMMITTE TO TRUE DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE (PAGE 13, JUNE 1, 2010)

THE Constitution Review Commission (CRC) has organised community consultation fora at Wamfie and Dormaa Ahenkro in the Brong Ahafo Region to solicit inputs for the review of the 1992 Constitution.
The meetings, which were organised in collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) were attended by representatives of the various political parties in the area, traditional authorities, heads of department, market women and other women groups, the security agencies, religious leaders, assembly members and other identifiable bodies.
Speaking at the function at Wamfie, the Dormaa East District Chief Executive, Mr I. K. Kyereme, said the review process was a laudable idea and that by taking such a step, the government had demonstrated its commitment to ensuring true democracy and good governance.
He, therefore, urged the participants to get involved in the process by making their individual or collective views available to the CRC to enable it make the appropriate recommendations, which would finally strengthen the constitution and make democracy vibrant in the country.
Mr Roland Atta-Kesson, Counsel and Lead Researcher for the commission, who spoke at the two functions, educated the participants on the various articles, sections and clauses in the constitution, after which group studies were organised.
The various groups then made their submissions which were meant to be factored into the amendment of the constitution.
Mr Atta-Kesson appealed to the general public to submit their views to either the district assembly or the office of the NCCE for onward submission to the CRC in Accra.
Mr Justice E.K. Twum, a retired Supervising High Court Judge, who chaired the function, also urged the government to adequately resource the NCCE to enable it carry out its constitutional mandate and added that without the NCCE, the quest for true democracy would be a mirage.
At Dormaa Ahenkro, the Municipal Chief Executive for Dormaa West, Mr Vincent Oppong, pointed out that society was dynamic and the decision by the government to effect changes in the Constitution was in the right direction.
‘‘The review of the constitution represents nothing more than good housekeeping for the nation and an attempt by the people of Ghana to fashion out solutions to our governance challenges’’, he observed.