Citizens for Constitutional Change (CCC) intensifies Civil Society engagement in the Review Process Civil Society Organizations have assumed a supreme role in advocacy drives for better governance in both developed and developing countries. This state of affairs has culminated in a situation in which development partners view their contributions to national advancement as a sine qua non. As watchdogs, they most often than not, check the excesses of duty-bearers, even if some do it selfishly. Citizens for Constitutional Change (CCC), a local civil society coalition working for inclusiveness in constitutional development are being funded by the UNDP to collaborate with the Committee for a productive review process. Their aspiration to dispassionately monitor the process speaks volume of the importance they attached to the supremacy of the law. A spokesman for the Coalition, Steven Kelfala stressed that the formation of the CCC in 2010 emanated from the failure of successive governments to review the constitution. A report from the Commission to review the 1991 Constitution published in 2008 was not acted upon due to political transition and the absence of a Government White Paper. This culminated in the formation of an 80 member Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) that was charged with the responsibility of reviewing the country’s 1991 Constitution in tandem with the report of the Commission to review the 1991 Constitution. Chairman for the CRC Justice Edmond Cowan didn’t mince his words when he emphatically stated the CRC was not competing with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in reviewing the document, adding that they must collaborate to produce a people-centred Constitution. “The people must say yes, the revised constitution reflects our aspirations, otherwise it would be an exercise in futility.” Justice Cowan was stern in his statement to members of CCC: “We are not reviewing the constitution by ourselves, we would be going out to people to get their views about what they want included in the constitution.You cannot effectively review the constitution if you don’t take copies of the constitution to them; it is a people-centred process. Holding these town hall meetings is not enough. The elitist manner of constitution writing has long. Workshops would not solve the problem of the constitutional review process, go to the people and talk to them. We shall not relinquish the responsibility bestowed on the CRC to review the constitution; this would not be relegated to any CSO whether supported by UNDP or any other organization If we don’t come out with a proper constitution it will affect the peace and development of the country. If we become fragmented and produce a document that will bring friction, the development that we are all striving for would become stagnated.” CCC commended CRC on progress made so far in reviewing the constitution of Sierra Leone but stressed that their desire was to increase Civil Society Engagement in the review process.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 03:45:45 +0000
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