Review of 1992 Constitution in right direction — Dery

Page 16, Aug 27, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Ambrose P. Dery, has said the proposition by the Government to review some aspects of the 1992 Constitution was a step in the right direction.
“Having been in operation since 1992, it is appropriate for some aspects of the document governing the country to be subjected to review,” he said.
Mr Dery, who was speaking to the Daily Graphic about the recent pronouncement by the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, on the review of the constitution, said such a review should rather emanate from the people.
He noted that the 2008 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, also campaigned for the review of the Constitution.
Mr Dery, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra/Nandom and lawyer, mentioned fusing of the Executive and the Legislature as the main aspect of the constitution that should be reviewed.
He noted that having been in operation for some time now, it had become clear that the Executive and the Legislature should be separated from each other to ensure a true separation of power.
“Although the concept is good in theory, it has a lot of drawbacks in practice,” he said.
On the immunity clause in the constitution, the deputy minority leader said he would not advocate its removal from the constitution.
He explained that after the national reconciliation exercise, such a clause in the constitution could serve as a bridge between the past and the present.
However, Mr Dery said that if Ghanaians thought that the clause had outlived its usefulness and decided otherwise, he would have no problem with their choice.