A former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini has stated that appointing ministers from Parliament weakens the role of the legislature.
According to him, this practice hampers Parliament’s ability to effectively oversee the executive branch as it is expected of it.
The former Tamale Central MP explained that, since the President selects ministers from MPs in Parliament, the potential for MPs to transition to executive positions diminishes Parliament’s capacity to hold the executive accountable.
Speaking to JoyNews, Mr Fuseini said, “We realise that Article 78 has worked to weaken Parliament in its oversight responsibility over the executive.
“What I mean by that is that because the President draws from Parliament and the prospect of a Member of Parliament transitioning to the executive exists, you would see that Parliament, as presently constituted, is failing in its responsibility to hold the executive accountable. So that clearly means that if Parliament is unable or unwilling to hold the executive accountable, that institution, which is a critical bulwark for democracy, has failed and is failing.”
Mr Fuseini stated that an advantage of requiring Members of Parliament to resign upon being appointed as ministers is that it would transition the nation to a strictly presidential system of government.
He added that in this system, a Member of Parliament cannot also hold an executive position, which would prevent members, particularly those from the government side, from undermining each other to gain the executive’s attention and move from Parliament to the executive branch.
“Where Members of Parliament would fear no retribution if they hold the executive accountable in terms of how it spends our public resources, where the country as a whole would build a strong legislature, where a person goes to parliament just to serve as a representative of the people, as a legislator, and to deliberate on matters of national importance, and not be eyeing the executive for potential recruitment into the executive.”
Source: Isaac Kafui Nyanyovor
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