Professor Kludze (middle) addressing the media. With him are Atik Mohammed (left) and Mrs. Chris Dadzie (2nd left). The rest are PS Adamu (right), Dr. Rose Mensah Kutin (2nd right) and Dr. IB Kuire (3rd right).
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Saturday May 28, 2011.
A COALITION established by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) to solicit views and make inputs in the ongoing Constitution Review process says the attention given to gender is not enough and as a result gender concerns will persist in the country.
The coalition made up of political parties with representation in parliament, women’s and child rights groups, religious bodies and the Federation of Persons with Disabilities, explains that the current provisions on gender should be strengthened if the country is to see accelerated development.
Professor Justice A. Paaku Kludze, a retired Supreme Court judge who chairs the coalition said on behalf of the coalition at a news conference in Accra yesterday by the IEA to enable the coalition state its position on the Constitution Review exercise.
He said the provisions for gender parity in the country is weak and called for the strengthening of all provisions on gender so that there would be a constitutional obligation to properly consider gender issues for national development.
The coalition further said as far as they are concerned, there is no duplication of functions between the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) in their respective anti-corruption mandates.
“EOCO has prosecutorial powers whilst CHRAJ does not. In addition, CHRAJ is the creature of the constitution, which cannot be changes without an amendment to the constitution whilst EOCO is a statutory creature and can be changed by parliament. The two institutions rather complement each other.”
The coalition further said placing a ceiling on appointment of ministers of state will not be necessary because any attempt to limit the number of appointees will be difficult to enforce since there will always be a way that the President could make extra appointments without necessarily calling them Ministers.
They also said there should not be a ceiling on the number of Supreme Court judges since the stringent procedure makes it difficult for anyone to manipulate the system and added that a random selection should be adopted for paneling at the Supreme Court to make the process more credible.
The coalition said the local government system should be overhauled with powers devolved to the local authorities and also be given revenue generating powers to enable the district grow faster.
They recommended that queen mothers be considered for membership of the various houses of chiefs and also called for amendment of on the ownership, protection, use and management of natural resources so that people who have to forgo their lands.
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