Government’s response to Constitutional Review report is not a white paper – Ayine

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has clarified that the government’s position on the Constitutional Review Committee’s final report does not amount to a white paper, explaining that the committee was not a commission of inquiry established under Chapter 23 of the 1992 Constitution. According to him, the committee’s work does not fall under the constitutional framework governing commissions of inquiry, and therefore the government was not required to issue a white paper on its recommendations. Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Thursday, July 30, Dr Ayine explained that a white paper would only have been necessary if the committee had been constituted as a commission of inquiry under Chapter 23 of the 1992 Constitution, which requires government to either publish the findings of such a commission together with its response or provide reasons for not doing so.

“This is not a government white paper,” he said, stressing that the government’s response represents its considered position on the recommendations submitted by the Constitutional Review Committee. He said government examined each of the committee’s 206 proposed constitutional amendments against the provisions of the 1992 Constitution to determine their scope, implications and whether the objectives could be achieved through constitutional amendments or through ordinary legislation and administrative action. The Attorney-General noted that the government’s position on the recommendations falls into three categories: acceptance, acceptance in principle subject to modification, or outright rejection.

He explained that where government accepts a recommendation in principle but proposes changes, reasons have been provided for the modifications. Similarly, where recommendations were not accepted, government has outlined the basis for its decision. Dr Ayine said the government’s response followed extensive consultations and Cabinet deliberations, adding that each recommendation was subjected to legal and constitutional analysis before a final position was adopted.

Kwesi Prempeh and members of the Constitutional Review Committee for their work, describing the report as comprehensive, well researched and reflective of broad public consultation. The government has accepted a recommendation by the Constitutional Review Committee to extend the tenure of the President and Members of Parliament from four years to five years, arguing that the current constitutional cycle does not provide enough time for governments to effectively implement their programmes. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced the government’s position at a press conference at the Presidency on Thursday, July 30, shortly after the Constitutional Review Committee presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House.

According to Dr Ayine, the government believes a five-year mandate would provide a more practical timeframe for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, while reducing the impact of the country’s frequent election cycle on governance. He explained that under the existing four-year term, a significant portion of every administration is spent on transition and election-related activities, leaving limited time to deliver on campaign promises. “The government has accepted the recommendation to extend the term of office of the president from four years to five years with the term of parliament extended to correspond with this.

Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition and the final year is consumed by election. A five-year term provides a more realistic timeframe for the formulation, implementation and the assessment of every government,” Dr Ayine said. The proposal forms part of a broader package of constitutional reforms contained in the final report of the Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H.