By Christopher Arko
Accra, Oct. 15, GNA – The Ghana Youth Federation (GYF) has called for the inclusion of young people on the Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC), tasked with examining proposals for constitutional reforms in Ghana.
The federation argued that for the committee to succeed, young people must be involved throughout the reform process, from its implementation to the referendum stage, given that they constitute a significant proportion of the country’s electorate.
Mr Sharif Ghali, President of the GYF, made the call at a forum organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra on Tuesday.
It was on the theme: “Views and Reflections: The Prempeh Committee’s Report and Government’s Position on Constitutional Review.”
The conference brought together representatives of various youth groups, including the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and the Law Students Network.
Mr Ghali said the GYF intended to organise dialogues through its district federations, collate views from registered youth groups and submit a consolidated youth memorandum to the CRIC and Parliament before the relevant bills were drafted.
He also expressed concern about a proposal to allocate 24 seats among three groups – women, Persons with Disability (PWDs), and the youth – in a proposed 300-member Parliament through proportional representation.
Mr Ghali described the proposed arrangement as unfair to young people, arguing that an equal distribution of the 24 seats would give the youth only eight seats, representing less than three per cent of the proposed 300-member Parliament.
That, he said, would not adequately reflect the size of the youth population, which he estimated at about 10 million voters out of the country’s 18 million registered voters.
“We think that the percentage of seats to be allocated to the youth in the proposed 300-member Parliament should be increased. We believe that the youth share must be stated clearly and not be left open,” he said.
Mr Ghali also called for the harmonisation of the age requirements in the constitutional reform proposals, which would allow a 35-year-old person to qualify to contest the presidential election while excluding younger people.
“If an 18-year-old person is trusted to go to the ballot and vote for somebody, why then is that person not trusted to have his picture on that ballot?” he asked.
Mr Titus Owusu Darko, Secretary for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NUGS, called on young people to unite and make their voices heard on important national issues, including constitutional reforms.
He proposed that the implementation of the reforms should be accompanied by clear assessments of their implications for young people, particularly in the areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship, gender inclusion and regional inequalities.
Such assessments, he said, would not mean that every youth-related proposal must automatically be accepted, but would ensure that the potential effects of major decisions on the next generation were identified, considered and explained before implementation.
He emphasised the need for the Constitution to remain relevant to the realities of a changing society, arguing that it should not merely be a document people were expected to follow but one that resonated with their lived experiences.
Mr A.K. Gyasi, President of the Law Students Network, said the group supported the Constitution Review Commission’s (CRC) recommendation for a strict separation of powers.
Under the proposal, Members of Parliament (MPs) would remain in the legislature and would not be appointed as ministers or selected to serve on the boards of public institutions by the Executive.
He said the arrangement would enable MPs to discharge their oversight responsibilities without fear or favour, thereby strengthening accountability to the people.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
By Christopher Arko, GNA