New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed his commitment to amending the constitution to reduce presidential powers if elected.
He believes in returning power to the people. In an interview with JoyNews, Dr. Bawumia stated, “Our Constitution has served us very well over the last 30 years or so.”
“It has served us very well. And it was built to provide us political stability after the turbulent years that we went through, the focus of the framers, if you see how it was put together, is more to provide Ghana with political stability.
“But I think that we have attained political stability. We need a constitution that will provide us with economic development and so I want to see a review of the Constitution with that view, with a focus on economic development, and also, we need to reduce the power of the presidency, even though I’m running to be a president, I don’t think we need to have that as much power. We need to give some of that back to the people.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Isaac Bampoe, Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), has expressed support for Dr. Bawumia’s stance.
He said, “And he wants to believe that he’s got good intentions. We’ll see what happens. I’m a civil servant, we support any government in power. So whoever comes will support him, but these are great ideas that will move the country forward,” Dr Bampoe stated.
Dr. Bawumia also addressed issues in public service, including political interference and inefficiencies at district assemblies. He emphasized the need for reforms to ensure that public services are more effective and less influenced by political agendas, aiming for a more transparent and accountable system.
Dr. Bampoe added, “CLOGSAG association we’ve spoken about a presidential Act which we say it contradicts the constitution, well if that’s what is going to do then I think is going to move the country forward, because was too much power, too much power in one person.
He concluded, “When he comes into power, we will hold him to his promises. He told us he would perform, so we expect him to do so.”