The 1992 Constitution deserves our respect - Nana Dr S.K.B.Asante
“I do not believe in the overhauling of the entire Constitution. The Constitution has served us well.”
The Paramount Chief of the Asokore Asante and former International arbitrator, Nana Dr. Susubiribi Krobea Asante, has noted that the 1992 Constitution deserves the respect of Ghanaians.
He notes that there is something good about the document thus any pervasive disrespect on the part of Ghanaians for it, will not do us any good.
There have been diverse calls for an amendment to the 1992 Constitution. Others have even called for a complete overhaul of the Constitution because to them, it has overgrown and like the popular dictum of Sowah JSC(as he then was) in Tuffuor v, Attorney General, the Constitution is a living document that is capable of growth.
However, speaking at the Forum for current legal issues by the Faculty of Law of the KNUST on the Topic: THE 1992 CONSTITUTION, LAW, AND DEVELOPMENT: AGENDA FOR REFORM, Nana Dr. Asante, who was the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the document, was of the view that the Constitution has served the nation well.
“I do not believe in the overhauling of the entire Constitution. The Constitution has served us well.”
He noted that the seeming vast criticism of the Constitution is not new because it had been raging for about 30 years now from the time it was drafted and adopted.
Nana added that the Constitution has been subjected to various degrees of vilification since its adoption yet there has been no alternative.
He believes that instead of being obsessed by the letters of the 1992 Constitution, Ghanaians should rather consider its infrastructure which includes the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, etc.
Therefore the legal luminary cautioned Ghanaians against their resolve for a constitutional review merely per the letters of the over 30 years Constitution.
