Give meaning to separation of powers

Parliament holds the purse string of the government, among other key functions, to ensure accountability and transparency in the conduct of public affairs.

In a multi-party democracy, the people’s representatives play an important role in ensuring that the resources of state are used judiciously to advance the cause of the people.

That explains why the President, every year, accounts to the people of the country in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament.

Also, the President presents the government’s Budget and Economic Statement to Parliament. These two key exercises do not end up in monologue but are critically analysed by the Members of Parliament to determine whether the measures outlined by the President will keep the nation on the path of stability, progress and prosperity.

We recall a budget in the Third Republic that was rejected because the MPs felt the economic statement did not meet the expectations of the people. It showed how powerful the legislature could be if, really, MPs want to be.

Then we have the Question Time in Parliament, during which Ministers of State appear before the House to answer questions filed by MPs. We have had occasions when MPs who asked the questions were not present, while on other occasions the ministers failed to appear.

One of such instances was what happened last Wednesday when the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Clement Kofi Humado, failed to appear before Parliament to answer a question filed by the MP for Kintampo North, Mr Stephen Kunsu, who wanted to find out from the minister the status of the New Longoro Irrigation Project in his constituency.

The Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, obviously not happy with the failure of the minister to appear before the House, said he did not want a situation where ministers who were summoned to appear before the House were not available without any explanation.

He said he had given this week as the “honeymoon period” to the minister, adding that “next week there will be no honeymoon”.

Obviously we understand the Speaker’s anger because the failure of ministers to appear before the House disrupts the programme of the legislators. It also does not give the MPs the opportunity to scrutinise the activities of the Executive and, by extension, ensure accountability of the resources entrusted to them.

This attitude does not help good governance because it tends to put pressure on the House, especially when the House is about to rise.The Daily Graphic urges the Executive to cooperate with the Legislature in order to meet the dictates of the policy of Separation of Powers to achieve good governance, transparency and accountability.

Daily Graphic/Ghana