Historian at the Department of African Studies, University of Ghana (UG), says that the President’s powers as enshrined in the constitution must be reviewed.
Kweku Darko Ankrah speaking on JoyNews‘ AM Show, said that the appointing capabilities of the President, which he considers excessive, must be minimised.
“There’s too much power for a president in this country, this is a country where a president can appoint and even appoint an ordinary assemblyman in a village somewhere the president does not even know what they call the presidential appointees to a district assembly can you imagine?” he quizzed.
“If you look at the appointing capabilities of the President in this country, it is too much”.
According to him, certain offices must be independent and be able to have an effective system that will help eligible persons to apply for certain positions and be vetted or voted for without the President’s interference.
“At this day and age, the District Chief Executives (DCEs) should not be appointed,” he stated.
However, the historian mentioned that politicians in opposition are different when they come into power because the very things they condemned previously will be the exact same initiatives they will implement when they take office due to the benefits they derive from it.
“Politicians are very smart, the very things that they criticized in opposition, as soon they come into power and they realise that this thing is good, it gives additional power, they change because they also have seen how it inures to their own benefit,”
“Particularly in terms of giving job opportunities to their party members because it’s created”, he said on Monday, March 6, 2023.
Kweku Darko added that there are certain constitutional conventions that must be looked at such as the number of people the president can appoint to his office and which criteria are used in the selection process.
“So you go and you meet all calibre of people who do not contribute a dime to national development, we need to look at all these constitutional conventions that do not serve us in any way…because it makes the country prone to corruption,”
“So for me, our constitution should be relooked at, because we are not getting the best from the constitution,” he said.
Kweku Darko Ankrah and a Constitutional Expert and Statesman, Dr Nana S. K. B. Asante joined the Host, Benjamin Akakpo to discuss Ghana’s independence and whether or not it is worth celebrating sixty-six years of breaking free from British Colonial rule.
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Source:
www.myjoyonline.com
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