Ghana must have a second chamber – ex-Prez Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has suggested Ghana adds a second Chamber to Parliament as exists in the UK and other countries.

Mr. Kufuor told XYZ News in an interview on Tuesday after a lecture by former South African President F. W. de Clerk in Accra that: “I believe in a second Chamber which is made up of equal representation of regions and also perhaps major identifiable groups – say religious groups, traditional authorities – so that in that second Chamber.

'Then off course the Constitution should be arranged in such a way that the house of the people, that’s the lower house, will not be given a free reign, too easily, to impose the majority rule on [the people]”.

According to him, “if the second chamber will help to modulate the decision of the lower house, by and by, you’ll get the inclusiveness”, Mr. Kufuor suggested.

His suggestion was an addition to proposals made by de Klerk for the devolution of power to the local government level through regional governments in African countries when he delivered a post-election petition verdict lecture on “fostering peace, national cohesion and reconciliation”.

The suggestions by the two leaders come on the heels of a recent debate in Ghana about the winner-takes-all system of governance where parties who lose elections are totally sidelined by the winning party.

In line with that, Mr. Kufuor also suggested that Ghana adopts the checks and balances system instead of the hybrid systems where Legislators could be co-opted into the Executive arm of Government to serve as Ministers.

“…I don’t like the hybrid idea of ministers sitting in Parliament, no. If you are a Minister, you are [part of the] Executive. Stay on one side. Professionalize the House of the People, that’s Parliament”, he suggested.

According to him, if Members of Parliament are paid better salaries and given other incentives and motivations, they will not go “begging” to be made Ministers “to compromise the oversight authority of the House to ensure the Executive is doing the right thing”.