It is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years — Abraham Lincoln
We have lived with the present (1992) Constitution for thirty-four years. It is the first post-colonial Constitution that has stayed with us for so long, seeing five Presidents (tone) and six regimes with corresponding regime changes.
The constitutional review is aimed at addressing gaps, improving governance, fighting corruption, and tying up the framework with modern needs.
On 20th December, 2011, the Constitution Review Commission presented its report to Prof. J. John Evans Atta Mills. The membership of that Commission comprised: Prof. (Emeritus) Albert Kodzo Fiadjoe — Chairman, Kumbun-Naa Yiri II, Naa Alhaji Idrissu Abubakari (Chief of Kumbungu Traditional Area), Osabarima Kwesi Atta II Omanhene of Oguaa Traditional Area, Mr. Akenten Appiah-Menka, Mrs. Sabina Ofori-Boateng, Very Rev. Professor Samuel Kwasi Agyapong, Dr Nicholas Amponsah; Mr. Gabriel Pwamang; Mrs. Jean Adukwai Mensa; Dr Raymond Akongburo Atuguba.
The Ghanaian public did not see much of the 2011 48-page report till President Mahama established the Constitutional Review Commission (2025) under the Chairmanship of Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, who just last week presented a 127-page report.
Members of the Committee comprised: Dr. Rainer Akumperigya, Justice Sophia Adinyira, Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, Dr. Esi E. Ansah, Prof. Kwame Karikari, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko Amidu, Dr. Godwin Dzokoto.
For our discussion, we take three (3) of the landmark recommendations submitted by the Committee (1) Extension of presidential and parliamentary terms to five (5) years; (2) Separation of the Parliament from Cabinet;
In the first place, we look at the rationale for the extension of the presidential term from four years to five years. We do not need to worry about enhancing the presidential term from four to five years.
This, the argument goes, is to afford the Presidency enough time to govern the country, engage in developmental projects and Parliament to undertake appropriate laws to rule the country.
At a programme organised by I.E.A. in 2022, ex-President Kufuor, who had done his 8-year run as President (2000–2008), was lamenting the shortness of the presidential term of four years: “What can the President do in 4 years?, and it would take the good minister averagely, at least, one year to get to know the civil service to, in a way, harness it to use it to do the politics that must be done and then to help him to go to Parliament to get the law passed and then to bring back the policy to implement, by which time two to three years is gone. Fourth year, elections, all politicians go crazy”. In Africa, Ghana like Nigeria and Somalia, has two 4-year terms.
An extra one year, in our view, would not harm the country. Kenya has two five-year terms (after the 2010 constitutional reform); so has Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, La Côte d’Ivoire, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti (unlimited), Eritrea, Gambia (unlimited), Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Most of these countries had to amend their constitutions to arrive at the 5-year terms.
The second issue is about the separation of ministers from Parliament. Thus, no Member of Parliament is to be appointed a Minister of State or a Deputy Minister or Regional Minister.
Sometimes one wonders how Members of Parliament who are Ministers combine the load of work at both ends in the present hybrid system which allows the President to appoint a majority of Ministers from Parliament.
Article 78 (1) says: “The Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among Members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.”
We endorse the proposed amendment. because we want to ensure efficiency which can be achieved when the work load is sizeable.
The third issue is about the age limit for President. The present (1992 Constitution) one is 40 years. Article 62 says: “A person shall not be qualified for election as the President of Ghana unless: (a) he is a citizen of Ghana by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty years …”
The argument has been that we should sway to the youth because the Ghanaian population is youthful. But we ask: What experience would the 30- years old man (or woman) bring on board? We thought that for Presidency; 40 years minimum was ideal. So, somebody becomes President now at age 30; after running the show for 10 years (taking a term to be 5 years), by age 40, he is an ex-President, enjoying ex-gratia and other benefits for the rest of his life!
Prof. Agyemang-Duah thinks “…at 30 years we don’t have enough maturity…”. He argues: “If democracy were to let people have what they want, we would be in chaos. We are going to have a chaotic society so there is always the need for people like you and me to provide the kind of guidance
that we need…”
Viscount Buer, agreeing with Prof. Agyemang-Duah, says: “It doesn’t make any sense at all to have a 30-year- old full of youthful exuberance being President of the Republic of Ghana. They could easily be puppets in the hands of those older than he. 40 is even not good enough. The ideal age should be 45 years, plus.”
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, born in 1909 at Nkroful, was 43 years of age when he served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1952. He became Prime Minister of independent Ghana in 1957 at the age of 47; then became President of the Republic of Ghana (1960) at the age of 51.
Lt. General Akwasi Amankwaaa Afrifa was born in April 1936. He was 33 years old when he assumed the leadership of Ghana as the Chairman of the National Liberation Council in April 1969, following the resignation of Lt. General Joseph Arthur Ankrah.
Again, born in June 1947, Flt Lt Rawlings was 32-years-old when he assumed the leadership of Ghana when the AFRC came to power in June 1979.
Afrifa and Rawlings were military leaders who had through military coups, suspended the existing Constitutions of the land. The success story of military leader, Ibrahim Traore could be a guide, but, note, he is a soldier.
Of course, history of other countries shows periods when younger people had assumed leadership of these countries.
In May 7, 2017, Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France at the age 39, being the youngest President of France after since Napoleon I in 1848 at age 40.
In the U.K., William Pitt the Younger became the British Prime Minister at only 24-years- old in 1783… We agree with Prof. Agyemang that we have a duty to “guide” the youth…
