The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in-waiting (awaiting approval by Parliament) Dr. Stephen Amoah, was one of the people who presented papers at the recently held GIMPA Law Conference 2023, in Accra, where he made a strong case for the 1992 constitution.
Dr. Stephen Amoah, an investment banker and Member of Parliament (MP) for Nyiaeso Constituency in the Ashanti region’s statement paper was titled “Impact of the 1992 Constitution on the Socio-Economic Development of Ghana.”
He defended the 1992 Constitution strongly, that but for the Constitution, “successive governments would have abused tax privileges”, and that the constitution “has put a check on all activities of those in authority in that government cannot wake up and impose taxes.”
He said however that “most of our challenges as a country comes to this point of how our fiscal space is managed by government.”
“Here in Ghana, the MP indicated, “we have been experiencing ‘negative effective tax rates’. It doesn’t matter who is in government. Prior to the Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war, all revenues generated by government has always been less than how much it has spent. Government always spends more than it earns. But the constitution has made provisions such that governments are forced to spend only within a certain means.”
Dr. Amoah who is a student at the Law Faculty, intimated that “this common saying that the private sector is the engine of growth has proven to be true in all modern economies. There is a global shift from socialism to capitalism and this has been successful as a result of the supporting constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”
He also added that the constitution has ensured the socioeconomic freedoms of all citizens in that it makes provisions for every person to “work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions and to receive equal pay for equal work without distinction of any kind.”
This, he opined, would have been worse, especially considering the kind of political culture we experience in Ghana.
“The Constitution has helped us as a country to properly manage our funds. It has provided everything we need as a country and has also contributed immensely towards building this beautiful country of ours,” he added.
The GIMPA Law Conference was held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public
Administration (GIMPA) from the 14th – 16th March 2023, under theme: “The 1992
Constitution of Ghana @ 30: Taking Stock, Assessing Progress and Reflecting on The Future.”
