Head of the Governance Studies Department of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College, Dr. Harrison Kofi Belley is advocating the establishment of a fund to cater for the financial constraints that hinder the effective operations of two state institutions.
The two state institutions are the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and other constitutional bodies like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Dr. Belley who was speaking at a public lecture organized by the Governance Studies Department of the University in Ho, lamented that despite the critical roles played by these constitutional bodies the state has continuously failed to fully resource their operations.
This he says has left the institutions handicapped and ineffective in the execution of their mandates.
He lamented that, “I’m very much aware that when this institution [NCCE] submits its budget proposal to MoF it is slashed, it gets to Parliament, it is further slashed -even when it is approved, the release becomes a challenge.”
“There is NCCE in every District but as for CHRAJ they are limited to only a few. Everywhere you go, you see NCCE willing to work but because of the financial constraints, they have been rendered almost ineffective. Do you blame them since you’ve given them the job without the working tools?”.
Dr. Belley who was once a Director at the NCCE noted that the only way to adequately resource such constitutional bodies to enhance their work is to establish a dedicated fund to be named as Democracy Fund.
He urged that, “all of us should be advocates for the effective funding for these institutions because of the important roles they play in our governance process.”
“In that direction, I am recommending that we should set up an independent constitutional bodies fund to be known as Democracy Fund,” Dr. Belley added.
He is also urging that the Democracy Fund be resourced with a percentage of the country’s GDP to take away the financial constraints that confront the institutions.
The governance expert also urged the government to reverse the 7th January celebration of Constitutional Day in Ghana to 28th April to give a true reflection to when the 1992 constitution was adopted.
The public lecture which was held at the Ho Kpodzi campus of the University, is on the topic: Three Decades of Constitutionalism in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: Reflections on the Performance of the Independent Constitutional Bodies.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Faisel Abdul-Iddrisu
