Council of State is still relevant - Sam Okudzeto insists

A member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzeto, has rejected calls for the scrapping of the council because its advice to the president is not binding.

Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Sam Okudzeto said that the council is still relevant to the governance process of Ghana, which is why its role has been stipulated in the 1992 Constitution.

He added that not only does the council offer advice to the president, but it also engages all the branches of government to help find solutions to the challenges facing the country.

"To tell you the truth, I am not even concerned about (our advice) being binding or not binding. I am just saying that our advice should be taken seriously because nobody just gives advice.

"… no matter what is said, whether it is binding or not binding, it is better to seek advice. And I am just saying that this is what was meant to be in the Constitution.

"Parliament also should be doing that; when issues come before them, they should make reference to the council. Even ministers are supposed to do that. But we have been calling them. We call ministers; they come with their officials, and we discuss issues," he said.

Meanwhile, Ghana's only living former president who has served the full two terms of eight years, John Agyekum Kufuor, has called for the scrapping of the Council of State.

He indicated that the present times and the relevance of the Council of State no longer seem to align, and as such, there is a need to relook at the composition of the constitutional body.

Backing the calls for the body to be scrapped, the former president, who has been part of Ghana's parliamentary structure from the days of a constitutional assembly until the current parliament was constituted in 1992, explained that it is time for the country to consider a second chamber.

Watch the interview below (from 25:00)



Watch the second part of Elvis Afriyie Ankrah's interview on GhanaWeb TV below:

Also watch the nomination for the GhanaWeb Excellence Awards Youth Edition below:



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