The Member of Parliament for the Asawase Constituency and Former Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has joined calls for a revamp of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution since it only helps to elect a dictator for the country.
According to him, the Constitution gives too much power to the Elected President who becomes a super monster capable of doing anything and getting away with it as long as he remains the President.
“Let us take steps to make a lot of changes because Mr. Speaker, with the greatest of respect, I have said that the 1992 Constitution we currently have, simply helped us to elect a dictator.
“Because if you look at the Constitution, all it does is create a monster President who is a superhuman being; who does everything… A lot of those checks have to be corrected; because what we are doing simply is to give so much power to the President”, he said.
He argued that, the current Constitution makes nonsense of the checks and balances principle inherent in proper democratic governance where the other arms of governance are able to rein in on the Executive to balance the power of the state.
“Mr. Speaker, without diverting the argument, we all know that in a Presidential system, two other things must follow it. One is Checks and balances. You and I know that, that is something that is very difficult for us to do for the last 30 years. We need to take advantage and amend the Constitution among other things the Majority Leader is saying,” Honourable Muntaka indicated.
He made the comment in secondment to a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution which ushered the West African country into its current Fourth Republican era and back into the democratic dispensation after a long stint with military dictatorship.
The issue gained currency on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 when the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu broached the subject after the Speaker had read to the House the President’s communication of his absence from the country and the Constitutional arrangement which puts the Vice President in the acting position.
The Majority Leader held the view that the Absence of the President from the country is not the same as not being able to perform the functions of his office as article 60 (8) of the 1992 Constitution seems to suggest. He therefore does not see why there must be an acting President whenever the President is out of the jurisdiction. He contends that the President is still acting wherever he is.
Article 60 (8) of the 1992 Constitution says, “Whenever the President is absent from Ghana or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President until the President returns or is able to perform his functions.”
Source: Clement Akoloh||Parliamentnews360.com
