Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform

The county/local level can be a more effective playing field on which to make improvements to government transparency and accountability. Not only are county/local level efforts more attainable than changes to national ones, but they often have more direct and bigger impacts on citizens lives on a day to day basis. This strategy can be made even more effective by making requests for these improvements in the run-up to election proccesses. These commitments can in turn be used to hold officials accountable when in office.

The grantee did not always effectively communicate with the funding agency. At one point there was a ten-month delay during which UNDEF received no response to its emails. The lack of communication with UNDEF unacceptable performance would seem to indicate certain weaknesses in the overall system of management, particularly regarding project implementation.

The grantee’s influence was partly because of the high quality of the research undertaken as a basis for the proposals it put forward to the Constitutional Review Commission. The range and number of civil society partners in the Coalition also added to the credibility of the project. This project was a thoroughly professional and unique initiative. Its findings were of crucial importance in demonstrating to the Constitutional Review Commission the weight of public support for some of what became the key issues addressed in its recommendations.

The unexpected announcement by the government that there would be a Constitutional Review led to the grantee to refocusing its project design since the initial project document was developed before the government had made a firm commitment to a constitutional review process. The project was initially designed to make the case for the urgency of governance reform and to identify the most critical issues. With the surprise announcement of the Constitutional Review, the grantee had to engage in in a process of identifying priorities for constitutional development and undertake advocacy in their support.

The organization of a national public opinion survey – the only one which took place in Ghana related to the constitutional review – and the publication of its results derived played a significant role in bringing the voice of the wider public to the proceedings of the Constitutional Review Commission and the national debate on priorities for reform.

The forming of the Civil Society Coalition in Ghana, which included around 40 major national organizations from a variety of backgrounds, demonstrated the grantee’s convening power. All project events and documents were presented under the auspices of the Coalition. This gave considerable weight and legitimacy to the proposals presented in the eyes of the public, the media and the Constitutional Review Commission itself.

The Project Advisory Committee in Ghana played an active and constructive role and made a difference in strengthening the final design of activities.

By building a platform providing credible research to inform the advocacy efforts of a broad-based coalition of civil society organizations in Ghana, the grantee had a significant impact on the constitutional review process.