‘Defend good governance for sustainable dev’
Ghanaians have been encouraged to defend constitutional democracy and good governance as the basis of ensuring sustainable economic development. They must, therefore, ensure that the Directive Principles of State Policy in the 1992 Constitution guides government programmes and provide a solid foundation for human rights and good governance.
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These are contained in a communique issued at the end of a legal conference organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
Theme
It was on the theme: ‘’Ghana @ 60: Evolution of Law, Democratic Governance, Human Rights and Future Prospects’’.
Participants in the conference, accordingly, said the rights to freedom of speech and media must be jealously guarded, but clearly circumscribed so that the rights of individuals are not abused.
They further called for reforms in the criminal justice system to include sentencing practices which admit varied alternative sanctions and a system which allows inmates to be integrated into society after serving their terms of imprisonment.
The communique also called for the 1992 Constitution to be translated into all Ghanaian languages and actively reviewed to ensure that the provisions are in line with democratic governance.
It also called for the review of the position of the Attorney-General and the functions and powers of that office.
Corruption
Participants called for the rooting out of all manifestations of corruption and corruptible practices.
Power of mercy
It stated further that the exercise of prerogative power of mercy by the President must be done in consonance with the law and, more importantly, in absolute good faith.
The institution of chieftaincy must be strengthened to have relevance in the governance system, it recommended.
The communique demanded the appointment of competent and qualified individuals to manage state-owned enterprises to achieve the objectives of such establishments while it called for concrete measures to address youth unemployment.
It suggested a fixed number of judges as Justices of the Supreme Court and greater judicial independence to sustain the rule of law, protection of fundamental human rights and the pursuit of democratic governance.
The communique also charged the academic community to lead in the development of the country and called for the establishment of an Inter-University Research Organisation to coordinate a research policy to help in governance and assist young scholars to engage and mature in research and publications.
