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Blakk Rasta, a radio host and Ghanaian reggae musician, criticized Ghana’s Parliament for creating “hollow” legislation that wouldn’t withstand time.
The Supreme Court reiterated its position that Parliament’s passage of the statute permitting marijuana growing in Ghana was unconstitutional in a majority 5-4 judgment on May 24, 2023.
The standard that a party should have to achieve in order to be entitled to review its own decision has not been met, according to presiding court Justice Jones Dotse.
Section 43 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, Act 1019, was declared invalid by the court in July 2022.
According to this clause, “the Minister may, upon the recommendation of the Commission, grant a license for the cultivation of cannabis, locally known as “wee” in Ghana, with not more than 0.3% THC content on a dry weight basis for industrial purposes to obtain fiber or seed for medicinal purposes.”
By a vote of 4-3, the Apex court, however, struck down this clause and ruled that it was against Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution.
Reading this article,
“No law shall be tabled in Parliament, except a bill referred to in paragraph (a) of article 108 of this Constitution, unless-
A. It is accompanied by an explanatory memorandum outlining the policy and principles of the bill in detail, as well as the shortcomings of the current law, the proposed solutions to address those shortcomings, and the need for its introduction; and
b. At least 14 days before to the date on which it is introduced in Parliament, it has been published in the Gazette.
Blakk Rasta contends that Parliament should have known better and passed a stronger law that could have survived the criticisms leveled at it by the Supreme Court.
discussing Ghana with Alfred Ocansey On TV3 tonight, May 24, 2023, Blakk Rasta stated that Parliament should be held accountable for their failure to anticipate the difficulty they could encounter.
“I am a regular guy, and I have no idea what happens in Parliament. I have given you power to speak on my behalf because that is all I am concerned with. You must now be able to comprehend the purpose of the law and ensure that any legislation you pass will withstand the test of time. You don’t go to the Parliament House, make your laws there, send them out, and then watch as they are destroyed in this manner.. Did you not anticipate that? Undoubtedly, it was wonderful that it was passed. They realized it had to take place. Ghana is a lovely nation. To make that happen, we must have the marijuana thing. How, though, do we get there? You have a plan in place to make it happen. I’m a regular guy who cannot read or write. Nothing is making sense to me. All I know is that you were supposed to represent me, but instead of telling me that you had done so and that everything would be alright, you led me out to sea and told me that we had forgotten an oar and the boat was going to sink.
By Owusu Boateng Quansah| Locotvgh.com