Former Chief Justice and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Sophia Akuffo, has called for constitutional reforms that would give Ghanaian citizens a stronger and more meaningful role in decisions affecting their communities.
According to the former Chief Justice, Ghana’s democratic system requires restructuring to ensure that citizens are not merely permitted to express their opinions but are also given genuine opportunities to influence important decisions at the local level.
She made the call during an IEA forum held to examine the Prempeh Committee’s report and the government’s position on constitutional review on Tuesday, October 6.
Ms Akuffo argued that the manner in which Ghana’s current Constitution has been implemented has left many ordinary citizens with limited influence over decisions that directly affect their lives and communities.
She said decision making had become concentrated among relatively small groups, thereby limiting the ability of citizens, particularly those living outside major urban centres, to participate meaningfully in shaping national development.
According to the former Chief Justice, the imbalance is also visible in the distribution of resources and opportunities between major cities and rural communities, where citizens can have considerably less influence over decisions affecting their immediate environment.
She stressed that the participation of citizens is an essential component of a functioning democracy and should not be weakened by the practical manner in which constitutional institutions operate.
Ms Akuffo therefore advocated specific constitutional provisions designed to strengthen public participation and give citizens a more direct role in important decisions taken at the levels closest to them.
She maintained that the voice of the people must remain central to democratic governance and should be sufficiently influential to affect policy choices and development priorities.
The former Chief Justice further argued that meaningful democracy requires more than allowing citizens to speak during political processes.
In her view, citizens must be given genuine opportunities to participate in important decisions, particularly those concerning matters that directly affect their communities and livelihoods.
She warned that without deliberate constitutional measures to strengthen public participation, large sections of the population could continue to find themselves excluded from decisions that determine the allocation of resources and the direction of development.
Her intervention forms part of the broader national conversation surrounding the Prempeh Committee’s recommendations and proposed constitutional reforms.
Ms Akuffo’s position places citizen participation at the centre of the constitutional review debate, with emphasis on ensuring that Ghana’s democratic institutions provide ordinary citizens with greater influence over decisions that matter directly to them.
