In response to former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s claim that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is perfect and doesn’t need to be amended, former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has stated her support for President John Dramani Mahama’s request for a constitutional review.
On January 7, 2025, Sophia Akuffo spoke to the media and spoke in favor of a methodical approach to constitutional amendments. The former Chief justice said, “I’ve never agreed with Akufo-Addo that the Constitution is so perfect that it doesn’t need to be reviewed.” As a living document, the Constitution has to be cared for, nourished, adjusted, and rubbed. We must periodically examine it to determine whether it still serves modern needs in every way.
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The former Chief Justice rejected the idea that amending the Constitution undermines its credibility. “There is nothing wrong with reviewing or revising a constitution to make sure that every provision serves the purposes of the people. I am fully in agreement with President Mahama that there should be a review of the process started over a decade ago. Unfortunately, it came to, how would I say? An unceremonious pause.”
Sophia Akuffo emphasized that after more than three decades of the current Constitution’s use, certain provisions have proven to be inadequate or outdated. “We need to acknowledge that there are certain parts that are not working the way we had anticipated,” she remarked. “There are ways it can be better.”
Former President Akufo-Addo had previously acknowledged that no country possesses a perfect constitution. During his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on January 3, he stated that despite the shortcomings of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, calls for its review should be approached cautiously. “Mr. Speaker, there is a subject that continues to attract a lot of public discussion, and that is the call by some for a review of the 1992 Constitution under which we have operated in this Fourth Republic for the past thirty-two (32) years. Mr. Speaker, there is no perfect Constitution anywhere in the world,” Akufo-Addo said.
He added, “…with all its shortcomings, I would say that this Constitution has served us well. It has provided the platform for the longest period of uninterrupted, stable, constitutional, democratic governance in our history. A constitution does not cure the irritations of the democratic process. There is no constitution that will satisfy the desires of those who do not believe in the democratic process. We should be guided by the old saying, festina lente, the Latin adage for hasten slowly.”
