A Former Vice President of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW), Mr Ben Imoro, has stressed the need for amendment of the 1992 Constitution to meet the current political and economic development needs of the country.
According to him, there was nothing strange about amending the constitution if time demanded that it has to be done.
“In America and other countries, their constitution have been amended, therefore I don’t see why we are lagging behind in the debate of amending ours. Americans call their constitution by the amendments, such as 1st Amendment, 25th Amendment etc. The British also don’t have a constitution, however, they have been updating their situation from time to time,” he emphasised.
Mr Ben Imoro made this assertion over the weekend at the launch of his book on Ghana’s democracy, titled “Democratic Mandocracy,” in Accra.
The 16-page orange book seeks to inspire a new democratic system of governance different from the current one practised in the country.
In his book, Mr Imoro, who is also a veteran film director, proposed a democracy where patriotism superseded individual parochial interests.
This system of rule is ours, relating to our cultural practices and norms which govern us. Democracy isn’t our culture that it is why I have brought ‘Mandocracy’ as an alternative form of rule, which literally means the love for the country,” he said.
In this new type of democracy, he proposed that a position of a Prime Minister was created to head the government and an Upper Chamber of Parliament established, to reduce the current tendency of usurping all powers to one person-the president.
Mr Imoro noted that the Constitution had served the country well over the last three decades, however, time demanded that it undergoes some changes in order to deliver the development the citizens so much desired.
He also urged the leaders to ensure that any changes made to the system of governance in the future recognised the traditions of Ghanaians, to ensure that it resonated with the people.
“We will be meeting in late March and early April, where we shall have Mandocratic study groups, studying the Mandocracy against our constitution and come back with a report,” he announced.
A short film geared at promoting peaceful elections was also launched by Mr Imoro’s outfit, Media in Partnership for Development. The one hour 26 minutes film was titled ‘One Ghana’.
Speaking on when the film was produced, Mr Ben Imoro told The Ghanaian Times that it was conceived before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it was re-edited in 2022.
“We did the pre-testing at British Council, which we intended showing, however, we were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to obey the protocol and measures at that time, which is why we have kept it until today. It is a universal message about peaceful elections and a film that can be played at any time and still have satisfaction,” he noted.
BY YUNUSAH ESSANDOH & GRACE ANSAH
