Senyo Hosi has delivered a keynote address at the 2022 Constitution Day Public Lecture organised by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School and insisted that successive governments’ inability to adhere to a common economic agenda for development has rendered the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) valueless.
He said the country is lagging in development since governments have shown keen interest in fighting for credit for projects their parties undertake rather than completing projects started by their predecessors.
He stressed that the average Ghanaian continues to bear the brunt of the culture of discontinuity – a practice he described as heartbreaking.
“We have failed to develop a common economic agenda and rendered the NDPC a white elephant replacing each national development plan with a party manifesto. Rawlings’ Vision 2020 gave way to Kuffour’s Vison 2010 and then a 40-year development plan which has also been denounced.
Mr Hosi, speaking at a Constitution Day Public Lecture themed, “Avoiding the Impending Death of the 1992 Constitution,” said that as the populace’s problems have worsened, many, particularly the youth, have begun advocating for the supreme law’s demise. Download his speech http://herald.233prime.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Public-Lecture-Avoiding-the-impending-death-of-the-1992-constitution-Public1.pdf
Mr. Hosi also mentioned that the country’s democracy faces a looming threat should its operators continue to disregard the provisions of the 1992 Constitution at the expense of the people.
He described the situation as unfortunate since the Constitution has been the bedrock of Ghana’s democracy and political stability for the last three decades.
Citing the Tuffour vs Attorney General case, the Policy Analyst said, “the Constitution is a living organism capable of growth and development, as the body politic of Ghana itself is capable of growth and development.”
He, therefore, called for what he called a ‘Ghanacracy’ that will prioritise the needs of ‘we the people’ and adapt to change.
“Democracy must, however, be adapted to fit our circumstances. This tells us that the democracy of any sovereign is sustainable and potent only to the extent of its flexibility to its evolving cultural and developmental circumstances.
“If our democracy is less Ghanacratic and more Americratic, then we are headed, truly for doom,” he said on Friday.
While acknowledging the successes of the supreme law, Mr Hosi, in his keynote speech, questioned the constitution’s adequacy in the coming years.
“I unreservedly agree that one legacy of the 1992 constitution is that it has given us political stability. This is important because it was the most sought-after commodity between 1960 and 1990.
