Free the president to appoint ministers outside Parliament – Lecturer

Founding Director of the University of Ghana Centre of Asian Studies, Dr LIoyd Adu Amoah, is calling for a constitutional amendment to legally allow presidents to appoint all his ministers outside parliament.

According to Dr Amoah, such a review will give the president the liberty to appoint experts outside his political party based on merit and competence.

Speaking to Class 91.3FM’s Jerry Akornor on the sidelines of a Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) democracy month round table discussion in Accra, Dr Amoah said such strict separation of powers in terms of personnel and functions will prevent legislators from being influenced unduly by the Executive arm of government.

“What we have where the legislature is expected to provide personnel for the executive is a matter of engineering...if it's not working, we should find a way to fix it so the president has a free hand to appoint constitutionally. The amendment is expected to be done legally so we begin to think about quality personnel and if we amend the constitution then the president can cast his net wide, to look for the general populace to see those who have skills and capacity, " Dr Amoah stated.

Meanwhile, International Trade Law Expert, Maame Darkowa Awinador says the Ghanaian democracy in its current form, is not a tool to seek freedom and justice for the ordinary voter.

According to her, the country's democratic system has simply become an avenue for the rich and elite to amass wealth at the expense of the poor voter.

"The current system benefits only the party elites. Think about it... the same people who give you power is the same people you're robbing, you don't care about their needs, why is it that the same people you give power to, who are supposed to be serving you are now your lords? We should devise a system that puts the common man first", she proposed.