Dual Citizenship Fears in Ghana Unfounded, Says Public Law Expert
Prof. Stephen Asare, a D&D Fellow in Public Law and Justice at CDD-Ghana, advocates for dispelling fears about dual citizens' loyalty, urging Ghanaians to embrace globalisation and professional integrity.
Prof. Stephen Asare, a D&D Fellow in Public Law and Justice at CDD-Ghana, believes it's time for Ghanaians to dispel their unfounded fears about dual citizens being disloyal to Ghana when allowed to serve in public office.
“There is no evidence in the world that shows that when given the chance to serve in public office, any dual citizen has betrayed either country,” he said on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday.
“Our parliamentarians are aware of what is going on around the world. They understand globalization and all these arguments that are well laid out regarding this issue.
"They are rational people, they have looked at all their facts and said on one hand there is this speculation that people are not going to be loyal. Why are they not going to be loyal?”
The Accounting Professor, popularly known as Kweku Azar, added, “Nobody can point out save that it is because they have another citizenship. It's almost like saying that Stevie Wonder came to Ghana and Ghana conferred Ghanaian citizenship on him, therefore, he's not going to be loyal to his mother country. It just doesn't make much sense to me.”
He further illustrated his point with an example from sports.
“On the soccer field, we can take a Ghanaian German to take a penalty against the German national team without worrying about their loyalty and allegiance. The reason we should not be worried and we are not worried is that people are professionals.
“I am an attorney. If I'm hired by the United States and they are paying me money, it wouldn't matter that I'm from Ghana; I'm going to do a professional job. Similarly, if Ghana hires me against the United States, it doesn't matter if I'm a US citizen or not. I'm going to do a professional job.
People are professionals in what they do. And merely because they have another citizenship or another religion or they belong to another tribe, that does not come into their professional decision-making."
Read more: Parliamentary Committee pushes for amendment to allow dual citizens to hold specific public offices
"And that's something that we tend to ignore when we highlight this loyalty and allegiance. It's almost as if, because of my allegiance, we are going to lose our professionalism and start doing something crazy.”
In April this year, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional certain provisions of the Citizenship Act, 2000 (ACT 581), which prohibited a person with dual citizenship from becoming a Chief Justice, Commissioner, Director-General of the Prisons Service, Chief Fire Officer, Chief Director of a Ministry, or holding the rank of Colonel in the army or other security services.
In a 6-1 majority decision, the court declared Section 16(2)(a) and 16(2)(h)-(l) of the Citizenship Act 2000 (Act 591) unconstitutional.
The court said these sections breached Article 289(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that the Constitution shall not be amended or altered by an Act of Parliament.
The suit was filed by legal practitioner Bright Okyere-Adjekum.
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament has recommended the approval of a bill to amend the Constitution, allowing dual citizens to hold certain public offices, including becoming parliamentarians.
The bill was introduced in Parliament after being published in the Gazette on July 9, 2021, and republished on October 11, 2021.
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