Let’s strip off some powers from the President – Haruna Iddrisu

Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu is worried about what he said is the too much power vested in the Executive, and underscored the need for Ghana to work towards changing that in the future.

“Mr. President this is not directed at you but to all other presidents under the 1992 republican constitution. I think that and I feel that the powers bestowed on the president of the republic are just too excessive and therefore in future, we will look to water down not that of the powers of President Nana Addo Dankwa but all other presidents,” he said

Speaking at the symposium to commemorate Ghana’s 25 years of uninterrupted Parliamentary democracy, the MP for Tamale South said the minority in parliament would continue to play their role by holding members of the Executive accountable to the people.

The symposium is under the theme “25 Years of Continuous Parliamentary Democracy in Ghana- Challenges and Prospects”.

Mr. Iddrisu who is the MP for Tamale South indicated that democracy is worth celebrating, stating that Ghana, which has been touted as the beacon of hope in Africa must reflect in what it does.

He lamented the attrition rate of MPs is a challenge in Ghana and identified oversight as the weakness of Ghana’s parliament is oversight.

Majority leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the 25 years of parliamentary democracy in Ghana is worth celebrating.

He observed MPs have not been able to effectively hold the Executive accountable owing to the challenges of the hybrid system.

He indicated that oversight is a challenge because the committees of the House are not well resourced to enable them do proper enquiry into government activities.

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also said gender representation is a challenge. Out of the 275 MPs only 31 are females and this according to him, can’t be a source of pride.

He also lamented over the level of the attrition rate of MPs and pleaded with political parties to pay attention to that. He said in the current parliament, more than half are first timers.

For him, parliament is as strong as its members make it, hence the need to check the rate of attrition.

Budgets are not properly scrutinized because of lack of time and lack of resources, he observed.

Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Ocquaye observed anytime there was a coup d’état in Ghana, it was parliament that suffered the most.

He praised those who have helped sustained the fourth republic.

The Speaker praised all the speakers, leaders of the House and the clerks for their brilliant contributions for helping parliament to stand the test of time.