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Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, International Relations Analyst, noted that a new law is not needed to deal with the threat of vigilance.
According to him, the solution is to ensure the effective functioning of state institutions, emphasizing that the Penal Code is comprehensive enough to handle the threat.
Mr. Antwi-Danso made this observation when he spoke at a stakeholder conference on the draft Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Act on the Principle of Vigilance and Offenses. badimilated, 2019, to Parliament on Thursday 23.rd May 2019.
The conference aimed to solicit the views and suggestions of civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to put in place a strong and useful law to address the threat of vigilance in the country.
He argued that vigilance strictly speaking is not a bad thing and evoked the late President Hilla Liman in 1979, who had called for the creation of self-defense groups to support governance.
"But vigilance went wrong, that 's why we are all in hysteria," he said, adding that it was the hysteria that had triggered the hype. call for the dissolution of self-defense groups.
"Again, hysteria has provoked this bill and even the way we wish this bill to be introduced."
He baderted that there are currently 17 vigilante groups in the country, but that none of them is positive in his activity.
According to him, their modus operandi indicates that they are a burden to the state and all the rest and therefore the need to do something about it.
Mr Antwi-Danso noted that "between governance and crime, the only arbiter is the establishment of institutions and laws designed to eliminate the negativity of crime. He wondered if the bill was necessary instead of strengthening the low laws to help fight crime.
He argued that the lack of institutional capacity is what thrives on militancy and emphasized that institutionalism and constitutionalism are pillars on which good governance flourishes.
"It's a nice bill, but how will it be effective if the same status quo exists? So, in tandem, can we also slightly change our institutional structure, "is he questioned?
He warned that until public law enforcement institutions are strengthened, the vigilantism law, despite its beauty, will remain a law for legal gymnastics.
Angela Dwamera, who represented a coalition of CSOs led by the Civic Forum Initiative and the Coalition of National Election Observers (CODEO) under the auspices of the Institute for Democratic Governance ( IDEG) and the Ghana Center for Democratic Governance (CDD), argued that the draft law requires broad consultation and commitment given the complexity of the issue and asked why the bill had been filed under an emergency certificate.
She urged Parliament to allow sufficient time for consultation and commitment to address the problem, otherwise the bill would be allowed to go the normal way to allow for sufficient consultation.
She said the bill in its current state would not produce the desired effect because of the serious flaws identified in the bill.
"Such identified gaps would make implementation difficult and render the law ineffective," she said.
When the National Catholic Secretariat took its turn, he argued that even if the bill had a valid purpose, it was too hurried.
According to the Secretariat, the issue of land protection should be addressed in separate legislation and suggested consultations with property developers and other stakeholders.
"We recommend that the bill be deferred to allow political parties to close their meetings and allow time for broader and more in-depth consultations," he said.
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