Barker-Vormawor: Constitutional Reform Must Be Built on National Consensus, Not Partisan Power

By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana  | Reporting for Ghanaian News Canada

Lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has stressed that Ghana’s constitutional reform process must be driven by broad national consensus rather than the agenda of a single political party.

Mr Barker-Vormawor, who was recently appointed Secretary of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC), explained that the committee’s mandate is primarily technical and does not extend to making political or policy decisions on which constitutional proposals should become law.

“Our brief is clear. It was made clear to us that we are not another post-Prempeh committee tasked with taking policy positions. It’s not a policy body; it’s a technical body supposed to move along what the political process settles,” he said.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Mr Barker-Vormawor said the committee would consider position papers and views submitted by various stakeholders and communicate the outcome of those engagements to the appropriate authorities.

He added that the committee could facilitate discussions among stakeholders where necessary to help build common ground.

“Maybe we’re going to convene conversations among the different stakeholders so that there might be some consensus generated,” he said.

According to him, the constitutional amendment process requires extensive consultation because of the parliamentary thresholds and referendum requirements involved.

“You can’t have a process which you will bulldoze your way through. It requires constant conversations. It requires constant agreement and compromises along the way,” he said.

“So, this is not a, you know, a one-party project. It has to be something that all the stakeholders agree as to the plan for reform.”

Mr Barker-Vormawor emphasised that the committee would not determine which proposals would eventually be incorporated into constitutional amendment bills.

“The key decision-making as to what proposals go and end up in the bills is beyond our pay grade. That’s not our decision to make,” he said.

“I mean, we have elected members of Parliament for a reason. We have political parties that seek a mandate for reasons. They are the voices that will direct how our way of work will go. We are essentially clay in their hands.”

The 11-member CRIC was inaugurated on August 28 by Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Dominic Ayine and is chaired by Presidential Legal Counsel and former Attorney-General Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew.

The committee has been tasked with examining the government’s position paper alongside the report of the Constitution Review Committee chaired by Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh and developing a framework for implementing the accepted recommendations.

Explaining the nature of the committee’s role, Mr Barker-Vormawor compared its work to that of the Electoral Commission and a midwife.

“The midwife does not determine the sex of the baby, doesn’t determine the, you know, colour of the baby. You just deliver the process,” he said.

“So, we are delivering what the political process puts in our hands to deliver. We can’t change, you know, one black hair to grey.”

Commentary

Constitutional reform is one of the few national processes that cannot succeed through political numbers alone. Without broad consensus, even well-intended reforms risk becoming politically contested and difficult to sustain.