Former UN senior governance advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has called for increased scrutiny of potential leaders seeking public office in Ghana, emphasizing the importance of mental fitness as outlined in the country's constitution.

Agyeman-Duah pointed out a provision in the 1992 constitution that stipulates requirements for presidential candidates.

"For instance, the constitution says if you want to be president, you have to be a citizen, not below forty years and of sane mind. The last requirement, I don’t know if we have ever tested the minds of those who want to seek public office," asaaseradio.com quoted Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah to have said.

He added that there are potential risks of overlooking this requirement.

"So, in that respect, we have people coming to exercise that right, who may become a danger to the society that they want to rule. I have not said anyone has become a danger yet, but I’m saying that because we don’t scrutinize potential leaders [not only presidents] of our country, I think we have to be careful," he added.

He also criticized the absence of background checks on candidates, noting extravagant promises made during campaign trails by these leaders as examples.

“As you know, on the campaign trail, people are making all kinds of promises and somebody is even suggesting to dredge the sea to somewhere up north. You wonder what their background or integrity is,” he said.

NAY/AE

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

Watch the latest episode of People & Places below