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The Fourth Republic and 1992 Constitution of Ghana: Grounding Democracy, Rule of Law and Development

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Democratic Governance, Law, and Development in Africa

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Abstract

Studies have established that a majority of national constitutions since 1789 last an average of 17 years. Given this short life expectancy of contemporary constitutions, the 30 years that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution has been in force is a great feat worth celebrating. This chapter applauds Ghana’s constitutional milestone by recounting the Ghanaian experience under the Fourth Republic over the past three decades. It highlights the achievements that should be continued and the shortcomings that need to be worked on. It also makes a case for preserving Ghana’s constitutional longevity and sanctity by timeously amending the relevant provisions in 1992 Constitution to meet the country’s current needs. It emphasises the promise and potential that Ghana’s democracy holds as a pacesetter in Africa.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 (hereinafter 1992 Constitution).

  2. 2.

    African Union, ‘Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want’ (African Union), https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview, accessed 24 January 2022.

  3. 3.

    Ibid.

  4. 4.

    Muna Ndulo, ‘Constitution-Making in Africa: Assessing Both the Process and the Content’ (2001) 21(2) Public Administration and Development 101.

  5. 5.

    Ibid.

  6. 6.

    Ibid.

  7. 7.

    Ibid. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, ‘Africa’s “Constitutionalism Revival”: False Start or New Dawn?’ (2007) 5(3) International Journal of Constitutional Law 469. Anthony Raphael Etuk, ‘Constitutionalism as a Lasting Solution to Governance and Underdevelopment in Africa’ (2020) 17(3) A Journal of Contemporary Research 95.

  8. 8.

    Ndulo.

  9. 9.

    Prempeh (n 7).

  10. 10.

    Prempeh (n 7). Morris Kiwinda Mbondenyi and Tom Ojienda, ‘Introduction to and Overview of Constitutionalism and Democratic Governance in Africa’ in Morris Kiwinda Mbondenyi and Tom Ojienda (eds), Constitutionalism and Democratic Governance in Africa: Contemporary Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa (Pretoria university Law Press, 2013).

  11. 11.

    Apart from Botswana’s 1966 and Mauritius’ 1968 independence constitutions that are still in force, most other African countries have either adopted new constitutions or substantially modified their founding constitutions: Charles Manga Fombad, ‘Constitution-building in Africa: The Never-ending Story of the Making, Unmaking and Remaking of Constitutions’ (2014) 13(4) African and Asian Studies 429. Ndulo (n 4). Prempeh (n 7). Charles M. Fombad, ‘Introduction’ in Charles Manga Fombad (ed), The Implementation of Modern African Constitutions: Challenges and Prospects (Pretoria University Law Press 2016).

  12. 12.

    Prior to the 1957 Constitution, Ghana (then Gold Coast) had had five colonial constitutions: 1916 Clifford Constitution; 1925 Guggisberg Constitution; 1946 Burns Constitution; 1951 Constitution and 1954 Constitution: E. Kofi Abotsi, Constitutional Law of Ghana: Text, Cases and Commentary (2017); Dennis Dominic Adjei, Constitutional Law of Ghana: Evolution, Theory and Practice (G-Pak Ltd 2020).

  13. 13.

    The Ghana (Constitution) Order in Council 1957, section 6. Kofi Quashigah, ‘Constitutionalism and Constitutional Reforms in Ghana’ in Morris Kiwinda Mbondenyi and Tom Ojienda (eds), Constitutionalism and Democratic Governance in Africa: Contemporary Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa (Pretoria University Law Press 2013).

  14. 14.

    Quahsigah (n 13).

  15. 15.

    See, for example, article 108 of the 1992 Constitution on the settlement of financial matters which drew from the 1925 Guggisberg Constitution that contained a similar provision where the colonial governor could veto the national budget proposed by the legislative and executive councils: Abotsi (n 12).

  16. 16.

    World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa. From Crisis to Sustainable Growth: A Long Term Perspective Study (1989).

  17. 17.

    Conrad Bosire, ‘The Constitutional and Legal Framework of Devolved Government and Its Relevance to Development in Kenya’ in Morris Kiwinda Mbondenyi and others (eds), Human Rights and Democratic Governance in Kenya: A Post-2007 Appraisal (Pretoria University Law Press 2015).

  18. 18.

    Ibid.

  19. 19.

    Committee of Experts, Proposals for a Draft Constitution of Ghana (Presented to the PNDC, 1991).

  20. 20.

    Ibid., para 7 at 5.

  21. 21.

    1992 Constitution of Ghana, ch 6.

  22. 22.

    Ghana Lotto Operators Association v. National Lotto Authority (Lottery Case) (2007–2008) 2 SCGLR 1088.

  23. 23.

    These are the 1957, 1960, 1969, 1979 and 1992 Constitutions. See more on each constitution in Adjei (n 12) and Quashigah (n 13).

  24. 24.

    Etuk (n 7).

  25. 25.

    Quashigah (n 13). Adjei (n 12). John Westwood, The Amazing Dictator and His Men (2nd ed, 2001). There were five successful coups: 24 February 1996, 13 January 1972, 5 January 1978 (palace coup), 4 June 1979 and 31 December 1981.

  26. 26.

    Charles M. Fombad, ‘Constitutional Reforms and Constitutionalism in Africa: Reflections on Some Current Challenges and Future Prospects’ (2011) 59(4) Buffalo Law Review 1007. Fombad, ‘Introduction’ (n 11).

  27. 27.

    Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996.

  28. 28.

    Constitution Review Commission, Consultative Review of the Operation of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana (Report No. 1, 2009). Constitution Review Commission, From a Political to a Developmental Constitution 2011. Maame A. S. Mensa-Bonsu, ‘Forty-One in One Blow: Thoughts on the Proposed Single Referendum Question to Decide the Amendment of Ghana’s Constitution’ (2016) 24 African Journal of International and Comparative Law 1.

  29. 29.

    Cornerlis Kweku Affre, ‘Joy News’ Newsfile Panelists Point to What Has to Change in the 1992 Constitution’ (My Joy Online, 4 September 2021), https://www.myjoyonline.com/joy-news-newsfile-panelists-point-to-what-has-to-change-in-the-1992-constitution/, accessed 29 January 2022.

  30. 30.

    Brian S. Akrong, ‘“I Am Independent But I Speak My Master’s Tongue”: A Paradox of Independence and the Need to Translate the Constitution into Ghanaian Languages’ in Francisca Kusi-Appiah (ed), Ghana@60: Evolution of the Law, Democratic Governance, Human Rights and Future Prospects (Galda Verlag 2019).

  31. 31.

    1992 Constitution.

  32. 32.

    Committee of Experts (n 19).

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    1992 Constitution.

  35. 35.

    Ibid., art 1.

  36. 36.

    Ibid., ch 4.

  37. 37.

    Ibid., art. 2.

  38. 38.

    Ibid., art. 3.

  39. 39.

    Ibid.

  40. 40.

    1992 Constitution, ch 2.

  41. 41.

    Ibid., ch 3.

  42. 42.

    Ibid., art. 58(1).

  43. 43.

    Ibid., art. 57.

  44. 44.

    Ibid., art. 66.

  45. 45.

    Ibid., art. 60.

  46. 46.

    Ibid., art. 93(2).

  47. 47.

    Ibid., art. 95.

  48. 48.

    Ibid., art. 125(3).

  49. 49.

    Ibid., art. 125(4).

  50. 50.

    Ibid., art, 126.

  51. 51.

    1992 Constitution, art 31.

  52. 52.

    Ibid., art. 33.

  53. 53.

    Ibid., art. 34.

  54. 54.

    1992 Constitution, ch 7.

  55. 55.

    Ibid., ch 15.

  56. 56.

    Ibid., ch 16.

  57. 57.

    Ibid., arts. 83–85.

  58. 58.

    Ibid., arts. 86–87.

  59. 59.

    Ibid., ch 17.

  60. 60.

    Ibid., arts. 187–189.

  61. 61.

    Ibid., arts. 185–186.

  62. 62.

    Ibid., ch 14.

  63. 63.

    Ibid., art. 269.

  64. 64.

    Ibid., ch 18.

  65. 65.

    Ibid., ch 19.

  66. 66.

    Ibid., art. 11.

  67. 67.

    Ibid., ch 22.

  68. 68.

    See more discussion in C. E. K. Kumado, ‘Forgive Us Our Trespasses. An Examination of the Indemnity Clause in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana’ (1993–1995) 30 University of Ghana Law Journal 83.

  69. 69.

    1992 Constitution, s. 37.

  70. 70.

    Raymond Atuguba, ‘Ghana Developing Through Law’ (2005) 1(9) Policy Analysis 2.

  71. 71.

    Charles M. Fombad, ‘Problematising the Issue of Constitutional Implementation in Africa’ in Charles Manga Fombad (Ed.) The Implementation of Modern African Constitutions: Challenges and Prospects (Pretoria University Law Press 2016).

  72. 72.

    Baffour Agyeman Prempeh Boakye, ‘Electoral Politics in Ghana’s 4th Republic (1992–2016) and Its Implications on Future Elections’ (2018) SSRN,https://ssrn.com/abstract=3202431, accessed 31 January 2022.

  73. 73.

    Ibid. See more in Lydia A. Nkansah, ‘Transfer of Power to a New Administration in Ghana’s Democratic System: The Way Forward’ (2012) 2 SSRN Electronic Journal,  http://ssrn.com/abstract=2014000, accessed 31 January 2022. Lydia A. Nkansah, ‘Electoral Justice Under Ghana’s Fourth Republic’ in Michael Addaney and Michael Gyan Nyarko (eds), GHANA@60: Governance and Human Rights in Twenty-First Century Africa (Pretoria University Law Press 2017). Lydia A. Nkansah and Delali Adzo Gawu, ‘A Review of the Electoral Process Under Ghana’s Fourth Republic’ (2020) 28(3) African Journal of International Comparative Law 355.

  74. 74.

    Nkansah, ‘Transfer of Power to a New Administration in Ghana’s Democratic System’ (n 73).

  75. 75.

    Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, ‘Midnight Actions During Presidential Transitions in Ghana: A Rising Tide’ (2019) 1 African Journal of Comparative Constitutional Law 25.

  76. 76.

    Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Others v. John Dramani Mahama and Others [2013] GHASC 5.

  77. 77.

    John Dramani Mahama v. Electoral Commission and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo [2021] GHASC 12.

  78. 78.

    Nkansah, ‘Electoral justice under Ghana’s Fourth Republic’ (n 73).

  79. 79.

    Kenneth N. O. Ghartey, ‘By Accountants and Vigilantes: The Role of Individual Actions in the Ghanaian Supreme Court’ in Michael Addaney and Michael Gyan Nyarko (eds), GHANA @ 60: Governance and Human Rights in Twenty-First Century Africa (Pretoria University Law Press, 2017).

  80. 80.

    Maame A. S. Mensa-Bonsu, ‘Forging Forward Introspectively as Ghana’s Constitution Turns Thirty’ (IACL-IADC Blog, 11 October 2021), https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/spotlight-on-africa/2021/10/11/forging-forward-introspectively-as-ghanas-constitution-turns-thirty-skcrc, accessed 29 January 2022.

  81. 81.

    Nii Larte Lartey, ‘7th Parliament the Busiest Ever; Passed Over 230 Bills—Majority Leader’ (Citinewsroom, January 2021), https://www.google.com/amp/s/citinewsroom.com/2021/01/7th-parliament-the-busiest-ever-passed-over-230-bills-majority-leader/amp/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  82. 82.

    Stephen Kwaku Asare, ‘Ghana’s New Region Creation Doctrine: The Jurisprudence of No Jurisdiction and the Faux Economics of Balkanisation’ (2020) 28(4) African Journal of International and Comparative Law 529.

  83. 83.

    AT Editor, ‘Ghana Selected as Home for AfCFTA Secretariat’ (Africa Times, 8 July 2019), https://africatimes.com/2019/07/08/ghana-selected-as-home-for-afcfta-secretariat-site/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  84. 84.

    ‘ECOWAS Chair of Authority (Past and Actual) ECOWAS’, https://www.ecowas.int/ecowas-at-45/ecowas-chair-of-authority-past-and-actual/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  85. 85.

    Magdalene Teiko Larnyoh, ‘Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo Re-elected as ECOWAS Chairman’ (Business Insider Africa, 20 July 2021), https://www.google.com/amp/s/africa.businessinsider.com/local/leaders/ghanas-president-akufo-addo-re-elected-as-ecowas-chairman/rfhz7mm.amp, accessed 3 February 2022.

  86. 86.

    Edward Brenya and others, ‘The Rawlings’ Factor in Ghana’s Politics: An Appraisal of Some Secondary and Primary Data’ (2015) S1 Journal of Political Sciences and Public Affairs.

  87. 87.

    Chloe Farand, ‘Ghana’s President Defends Appointing “Elephant-Size” Government of 110 Ministers’ (Independent, 18 March 2017), https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/worl/africa/ghana-president-nana-akufo-addo-appointment-110-ministers-government-a7636921.html%3Famp, accessed 3 February 2022.

  88. 88.

    See a list of corruption scandals here: ‘Corruption Scandals in Ghana’ (Modern Ghana, 2022), https://www.modernghana.com/ghanahome/corruptions/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  89. 89.

    Zdravko Ljubas, ‘Ghana Loses US$3 Billion to Corruption a Year’ (OCCRP, 19 August 2019), https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/10498-ghana-loses-us-3-billion-to-corruption-a-year, accessed 3 February 2022.

  90. 90.

    Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2021 (2022).

  91. 91.

    Thomas Naadi, ‘Ghana MPs Brawl in Parliament over Mobile Money Tax’ (BBC News, 21 December 2021), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59740528, accessed 3 February 2022.

  92. 92.

    ‘Ghana Halts, ‘Elaborate Plot to Destabilise Country’ (BBC News, 24 September 2019), https://www.google.com/amps/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49808879, accessed 3 February 2022.

  93. 93.

    ‘Ghana’s #FixTheCountry Protestors Take to Accra’s Streets’ (Aljazeera, 4 August 2021), https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/gallery/2021/8/4/in-pictures-ghanas-fixthecountry-protesters-take-to-streets, accessed 3 February 2022. Fix the Country, https://fixthecountrygh.com/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  94. 94.

    Ibid.

  95. 95.

    Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, ‘Address to the Nation by President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Updates to Ghana’s Enhanced Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic’ (Speech, 19 April 2020).

  96. 96.

    Jamila Akweley Okerchiri, ‘WHO Recognises Ghana’s Effective Covid-19 Management’ (Daily Guide Network, 8 May 2020), https://dailyguidenetwork.com/who-recognises-ghanas-effective-covid-19-management/, accessed 29 January 2022.

  97. 97.

    See more commentary in: Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, ‘Quasi-State of Emergency: Assessing the Constitutionality of Ghana’s Legislative Response to Covid-19’ (2020) 8(3) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 311. Delali Adzo Gawu and Richard Obeng Mensah, ‘Covid-19 Contact Tracing and Privacy Rights in Ghana: A Critical Analysis of the Establishment of Emergency Communications System Instrument, 2020 (EI 63)’ (2021) 65(S2) Journal of African Law 361.

  98. 98.

    Seth Bokpe, ‘Sputnik-V Scandal: Parliamentary Committee Report Points Out Inconsistencies’ (The Fourth Estate, 9 August 2021), https://thefourthestaategh.com/2021/08/09/sputnik-v-scandal-parliamentary-committee-report-points-out-inconsistencies/, accessed 3 February 2022.

  99. 99.

    Manasseh Azure Awuni, ‘Full Documentary: The Covid-19 Spraying Scandal Initiated by President Akufo-Addo’ (The Fourth Estate, 17 December 2021), https://thefourthestategh.com/2021/12/17/full-documentary-the-covid-19-spraying-scandal-initiated-by-president-akufo-addo, accessed 3 February 2022.

  100. 100.

    Mensa-Bonsu, ‘Forty-One in One Blow’ (n 28). Stephen K. Asare and Henry K. Prempeh, ‘Amending the Constitution of Ghana: Is the Imperial President Trespassing?’ (2010) 18(2) African Journal of International and Comparative Law. Ernest K. Abotsi, ‘Amending the Constitution of Ghana: Is the Imperial President Trespassing? A Rejoinder’ (2012) African Journal of International and Comparative Law 141.

  101. 101.

    Affre (n 29).

  102. 102.

    Fombad, ‘Problematising the Issue of Constitutional Implementation in Africa’ (n 71).

  103. 103.

    Ibid.

  104. 104.

    Ibid.

  105. 105.

    See list of proposed amendments in Constitution Review Commission, Consultative Review of the Operation of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana (n 28). Constitution Review Commission, From a Political to a Developmental Constitution (n 28).

  106. 106.

    The theory has a number of different connotations. See more in works of Andrew Coan, ‘Living Constitutional Theory’ (2017) 66 Duke Law Journal 99; William H. Rehnquist, ‘The Notion of a Living Constitution’ (1976) 29 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 401; Lawrence B. Solum, ‘Originalism Versus Living Constitutionalism: The Conceptual Structure of the Great Debate’ (2019) 113(6) Northwestern University Law Review 1243; and James E. Fleming, ‘Living Originalism and Living Constitutionalism as Moral Readings of the American Constitution’ (2011) 92 Boston University Law Review 1171.

  107. 107.

    Coan (n 106).

  108. 108.

    Charles A. Reich, ‘Mr. Justice Black and the Living Constitution’ (1963) 76 Harvard Law Review 673.

  109. 109.

    The Supreme Court was abrogated by General I.K. Acheampong, Chairman of Supreme Military Council (SMC I), following the coup d’état in 1972: Adjei (n 12).

  110. 110.

    Tuffuor v. Attorney-General [1980] GLR 637 at 647.

  111. 111.

    NPP v Attorney-General (31st December Case) [1993–94] 2 GLR 37. This case decided among other things whether 31st December 1981—the day a military coup was carried out—could be celebrated as a public holiday with public funds.

  112. 112.

    Ibid., at 105 per Abban JSC.

  113. 113.

    Ibid., at 168.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom & Lydia A. Nkansah

  2. Department of Planning and Sustainability, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana

    Michael Addaney

Authors
  1. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom
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  2. Michael Addaney
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  3. Lydia A. Nkansah
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Correspondence to Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kumasi, Ghana

    Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom

  2. Sunyani, Ghana

    Michael Addaney

  3. Kumasi, Ghana

    Lydia A. Nkansah

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Addadzi-Koom, M.E., Addaney, M., Nkansah, L.A. (2022). The Fourth Republic and 1992 Constitution of Ghana: Grounding Democracy, Rule of Law and Development. In: Addadzi-Koom, M.E., Addaney, M., Nkansah, L.A. (eds) Democratic Governance, Law, and Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15397-6_1

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