The Second Deputy speaker of parliament Mr. Alban Bagbin has stated that the constitution of Ghana has given too much powers to any sitting president.
According to the Nadowli West legislator, this powers has made presidents look like dictators since the inception of the 1992 constitution.
He proposes that there is an urgent need for constitutional reforms to scrap off some of the powers of the President if the country is indeed committed to practicing true democracy.
“Natural practice, we have elected dictators. That is what we have set up in the constitution. There is no difference between them and the military leaders”, he disclosed in an address to Students’ Parliament at the University of Education, Winneba- Kumasi campus, on the theme, ‘Parliamentary democracy in Ghana- a practitioner perspective.’
“The President appoints everybody, the President is the head of the party, the President is the head of government, the President decides the budget, the President can decide even though you have approved the money for an item they won’t release the money there and you can’t do anything. Is that democracy, no!” he stated.
The Nadowli-Kaleo lawmaker blamed the constitution for all these reiterating the need for something to be done in order to change the system.
“In the cause of this constitutional amendment or revision, we have to take away a number of the scales we have given to the president. Right up from the time of Jerry John Rawlings to date we have been electing dictators.
The NPP campaigned on a lean government and promised to reduce the number of Ministers from 84 but upon assuming power, they elected 110 and we are all powerless”, he stated.
Source: GhanaWeb
