The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, says the convener of #FixTheCountry Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor’s call for a new constitution and an abolition of the 4th Republic is contradictory and should be avoided.
Though he supports calls for a new constitution to reflect the aspirations of the new generation, Mr Baako says a call for the abolition of the 4th Republic is far-stretched.
According to him, the creation of a new constitution can take place within the 4th Republic, thus totally avoiding a needless revolution.
“He was saying new constitution for a new generation. In terms of a concept, I like that, I like to hear that. Whether you agree or not is immaterial. It is an attempt to conceptualise their aspirations and give us a focal point.
“But at the same time, I saw on social media the same gentleman talking about abolition of the 4th Republic. You see, it’s contradictory. You cannot talk about having constitutional reforms of whatever nature and call for the abolition of the 4th Republic. They’re mutually exclusive,” he explained.
He added that conveners of the #FixTheCountry Movement should instead focus on ensuring that the recommendations of the Constitution Review Commission are implemented and operationalised.
This, he said, would potentially produce the desired effect Ghanaian youth have been clamouring for.
“You can seek constitutional reforms within the 4th Republic which is what the Constitution Review Commission has set out to do. If those proposals, the recommendations of the Commission had not been implemented, I think there is nothing wrong with the focus on that side that look, we want the recommendations implemented, operationalised.
“Government may have differences with that, I’ve been told I think recently that the Attorney General’s responses to Parliament on an urgent question gave us a hint why government is not going along in totality with the recommendations.”
Mr Baako used the platform to urge the conveners to polish the language and communication strategies being employed to avoid further contradictions.
“But I’d advise that the language, the communication needs polishing. You cannot call for abolition of the 4th Republic in the name of seeking constitutional reforms,” he said.