JoyNews journalist and Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent, Kwaku Asante, has called on the Constitutional Review Committee to remove all references to private associations, like the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), from the 1992 Constitution.
Speaking at the committee’s stakeholder engagement: journalists and social media community on Tuesday, May 14, Kwaku Asante argued that enshrining private associations in the Constitution contradicts the spirit of freedom of association already guaranteed under the law.
He expressed concern that giving constitutional recognition to specific groups, such as the GBA, creates an unfair monopoly and limits representation from other associations that may emerge over time.
I appeared before the Constitutional Review Committee and shared my perspectives towards reviewing the Constitution. The focus was mainly on media but I shared my two cents on inclusion of private associations in the Constitution, exercise of Presidential powers etc. Watch: pic.twitter.com/QxXkRvVlHH
— Kwaku Asante (@kwakuasanteb) May 14, 2025
“Why is the Ghana Bar Association provided for in the Constitution?…If some lawyers come together and form another association, that association does not have any representation, say on the Judicial Council, for instance.”
He proposed that all state bodies mentioned in the Constitution should have their membership constituted by public offices or individuals selected to represent a broad range of private associations without reference to specific groups.
Kwaku Asante proposed that instead of mentioning specific groups in the Constitution, reference can be made to a broad group of bodies such as teacher unions or faith-based organizations.
“The problem with legislating into the Constitution, say the GBA, is that it almost becomes a constitutional body of a sort. It creates a monopoly of an association,” he said.
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