<\/p>\n
Former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, has proposed that Members of Parliament (MPs) should not hold ministerial positions.<\/p>\n
According to Prof. Mike Oquaye, MPs playing dual roles fail to be effective in the execution of their parliamentary duties.<\/p>\n
Delivering a keynote address at the launch of Prof. Oquaye Centre for Constitutional Studies\u00a0in Accra on Tuesday, April 26, the former Speaker stated that the appointment of Ministers from Parliament weakens the Legislative House.<\/p>\n
“The President\u2019s powers are legion. He has overwhelming powers of appointment and patronage. He is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Fountain of Mercy, and Fountain of Honor.\u00a0Particular reference must be made to the legislature where Article 78 (i) mandates that the President should appoint majority of ministers from parliament.\u00a0The general observation is that this has weakened parliament. MPs look forward to becoming Ministers. <\/em><\/p>\n “Those who are not appointed as Ministers once their party is in power feel left out. In some cases, disappointed constituents vote against such MPs at primaries contributing to the huge attrition rate of MPs. The legislative work of parliament suffers because this is the second attraction to an MP\u2019s Oversight Responsibility and Accountability. They become ineffective as majority of MPs bend to the Executive\u00a0<\/em>praying that MPs fortune will smile on them,”<\/em>\u00a0he argued.<\/p>\n Prof. Mike Oquaye appealed to the Government of Ghana to revisit the 1979 Constitution and apply its provision that prohibits an MP from becoming a Minister.<\/p>\n He expressed worry that\u00a0“MPs\/Ministers hardly have time for legislative work thus affecting the qualitative performance of Ministers\/MPs”.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n He added; “One tragedy of our system is that although a vote of censure against Ministers is provided for (Article 82- Clause 5), nonetheless, a Vote of Censure cannot remove the minister because the discretion rests with the President whether to remove or not to remove such Minister. Under the 1979 Constitution, no MP could also be a minister. We need to revisit this in order to strengthen the position of the MPs. Also, a Vote of censure would necessarily lead to the removal of a Minister.”<\/em><\/p>\n About\u00a0Prof. Oquaye Centre<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Prof. Oquaye Centre for Constitutional Studies has been established by the Institute of Economic Affairs to\u00a0undertake a thorough study on proposals for review of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.<\/p>\n It aims at broadening the understanding and application of constitutionalism at all levels of governance and daily lives of Ghanaians and\u00a0translating the Constitution to the simplest terms and local languages to\u00a0be taught in schools, churches, mosques and civil society.<\/p>\n Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi\/Peacefmonline.com\/Ghana<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Featured Video\n<\/p>\n\n
\n Disclaimer<\/span>: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of . Please report any inappropriate to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n