Parliament has not blossomed yet— Omanhene of Asante Asokore
Ghana’s Parliament has not yet blossomed into a prestigious institution possessing the promise of presenting its members with appealing career options.
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The result is that Members of Parliament (MPs) strive to catch the eye of the President, instead of the Speaker, for executive appointments as career alternatives.
This situation is made manifest and propelled by the constitutional provision in Article 78 (1) that allows majority of ministers appointed to be MPs as well.
The provision and other articles in the 1992 Constitution give Parliament an oversight responsibility over the Executive, but paradoxically Parliament itself is self-denying the exclusionary rights that go with function.
The Omanhene of Asante Asokore, Nana Susubribi Krobea Asante, also known as Dr S.K.B. Asante, made these observations at the inaugural Annual Legon Law Lecture series of the University of Ghana School of Law (UGSL) on the theme: “Reflections on the evolution of the 1992 Constitution.”
His lecture focused on the proposals made by the Committee of Experts formulating the 1992 Constitution, which he chaired, and some of the views for their rejection or acceptance by the Consultative Assembly.
It also looked at the impact of the final provisions of the Constitution on the Executive and Legislature, and whether the provisions created a “monarchical executive” or an “imperial presidency”, which had become detrimental to development because of the fierce contests for the coveted prize, resulting in the winners excluding all from governance processes.
Legislature
Nana Dr Asante said the proposals for most ministers to be appointed from among MPs was to enrich the work of the House; however, that had not been the case.
He said that and other factors, such as a lack of technical capacity to supervise the work of the Executive, resource constraints and inertia, had resulted in a weakened parliamentary oversight.
Dwelling on Article 108, which he said was most often used as an excuse for the initiation of bills by parliamentarians, Nana Dr Asante was of the view that that was a lame excuse as the provision was not intended to limit members in their own research and enquiry of laws.
He indicated that the wide interpretation of Article 108 was a self-denying limitation placed on Parliament itself by its wide exclusionary interpretation of the provisions, resulting in “the lofty ideals to provide real checks and balances” not being achieved.
Executive
On the Executive, the committee’s proposal to have a split Executive with an elected President by adult suffrage and a prime minister to prevent despotism and enhance governance was rejected by the Consultative Assembly for an Executive President with enormous powers, including the powers to appoint all the hierarchy of the public and security services.
He maintained that the Transitional (Amendment) Law 2012 accentuated these powers, with dire consequences for continuity, specifically in institutions and development of the country as a whole.
It also led to the politics of exclusion, or the winner-takes-all that ensured that the party that won with a simple majority controlled all those processes and resources of the country.
On the Judiciary, he said the scrutiny of its budget was inimical to the independence of the body.
Deep thought
The Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, commended the UGSL for the lecture.
She said the dialogue would enable deep analyses of the law, as the development of law in society was a shared responsibility among the Bench, Bar and academia.
A Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Samuel Kwame Offei, who launched the lecture series, said the UGSL was taking practical steps to provide an atmosphere for dialogue around the law to improve justice delivery.
The Dean of the UGSL, Prof. Kofi Quashigah, said the school would offer the opportunity yearly for a deep analysis of the law.
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