KB Asante: Voice From Afar column

We Ghanaians are very legalistic.  When there is a problem of governance, our first reaction is to blame the law or the Constitution and to ask for amendments.  We do not seem to take conventional procedures seriously nor question our own behaviour when things do not go as we expect.

Therefore when a problem arises about the role of ministers, I do not consult the Constitution.  I go by my idea of what ministers do in practice or by convention or are supposed to do.  I do not ask for the removal of a minister when I do not know exactly what he has done wrong.  In fact, to do so is in many ways a vote of no confidence in the President.

What I know and what I read in the Constitution long ago is that the President appoints ministers to help him run the government. The ministers attend Cabinet meetings at which the general policy of the government is formulated and strategies determined.  

In practice, however, not all issues are decided upon by the cabinet.  The role of the ministers in the cabinet is to assist the President who is held responsible for all the major acts of government and who sometimes acts on the advice of one or two ministers only.  As a political animal, the President should know which ministers he should take along with him on major decisions.

I am not aware that any of our ministers represent particular political social interests such as the environment.  In Europe, a President would not lightly remove a minister who represents a strongly organised group on the environment.  

He or she may lose the next election.  Here in Ghana we tend to follow British practice and we should know that even though the Prime Minister has the power to sack a minister, he does so warily.  Sometimes, it is the Prime Minister who restrains the minister from resigning.  

Aneuran Bevan did not want any charges to be imposed on the British National Health Service Scheme and so he resigned.  Harold Wilson resigned with him and that established his following in the left wing of the party and led to his becoming a Prime Minister.  

And so if a minister has a purpose and pursues it effectively, the President cannot get rid of him easily. In this country, I know only of one minister who has ever resigned.  He is Mr Osei Bonsu, then of the Busia government.  He resigned on principle and I am very proud of him.

And what do we Ghanaians expect of our ministers? Are they expected to talk a lotas I do or diligently assist the President to carry out his plans? Sometimes serious problems crop up in a particular sector and we are rightly concerned.  But our concern should lead us to study the issues and make helpful suggestions.  

Sometimes we may come to the conclusion that the whole policy is bankrupt and we may call for the head of the President himself at the next election.  Sometimes bad execution of policy and plans under the minister may be the problem.  We should then come out with the facts and the President may take the appropriate action.  To suggest on non-specific grounds that a minister should be removed or changed is to pass a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the President.

I am afraid sometimes the ministers confuse us and we ourselves do not know what they are supposed to do.  The other day, I heard a minister complaining that contractors did not do their work well, yet officials had approved the work and they had been paid.  

Some complimented him and said he was doing well because he knew what was happening.  I was of the view that he should have sacked himself.  The minister is responsible for the execution of policies and plans which fall under his or her ministry.  

The minister has to see to it that the civil servants and state officials in the ministry do their work and that the views and advice and work of the institutions under or allied to the ministry are coordinated and acted upon.

The minister’s role is to assist the President to fulfil his promise to the people and to effect that rapid economic and social transformation expected by the people.  It appears to me, however, that the role of the ministers is rather diffused today.  

Perhaps I am old-fashioned.  But there appears to be too many institutions answerable to the President directly or to themselves and therefore virtually independent.  The President and his aides are too busy on small issues or lack the knowledge to supervise these institutions.

It is not clear, for example, what responsibility the Minister of Finance has over financial institutions such as the Auditor-General’s Department.  What is Parliament supposed to do with a dated audit report? The audit report may be presented to Parliament for information and any comments but not with so many queries unanswered.  How can the minister of finance be effective under such conditions? 

Naturally, things change and even the old have to accept changes.  Ministers should be proud of helping to move the country forward.  They should refuse to be cast in roles where they will not have the opportunity to make meaningful changes to education, finance, health, the economy and so on, in accordance with government policy.  The reward of ministers is not to be called ‘Honourable’ and to improve personal well-being but the great satisfaction of improving the quality of life of fellow Ghanaians.