Loophole for coup maker!

Ghana faces the danger of being raided by coup-makers anytime an out-going government is about to hand over to an incoming one, Rex Owusu-Ansah, the former Clerk of Parliament, has warned.

He attributed his assertion to the fact that about 12 hours preceding the swearing-in of a new President, after dissolution of both Parliament and the Presidency, no one has the mandate to rule, uphold the Constitution or protect the state.

What this implies is that just after the tenure of Parliament and President Rawlings had ended on 6 January 2001, and before the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic and President Kufuor had been ushered into office, military adventurers could have seized power unrestrained.

Mr Owusu-Ansah drew attention to the danger when presenting a paper on "The Role of the Clerk of Parliament and Security,” organised by the African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR), an NGO.

The Clerk, reputed for his in-depth knowledge of the Parliamentary process, decentralisation and legal drafting, therefore urged the government to empower the out-going Speaker of Parliament to hold the fort until the newly-elected President is sworn into office.

He explained that every four years, the Clerk of Parliament is enjoined to summon the first sitting of the House. On such occasions, before the Speaker is elected, the Clerk assumes the role of presiding officer of Parliament. Incidentally, the date of its first sitting is also the date at which the newly-elected President is sworn into office. This means that both the President and the Parliament of Ghana cease to be functional.

He noted that a new president, where he has one term more to go would have been elected before the term of the out-going president ends, any day, can commence business only after being sworn in when Parliament meets after dissolution. In the same vein, a new Parliament with both old and new members would have been elected before the term of the out-going Parliament.

However, he added that all such elected members of the august House can function only after being sworn-in by t he Speaker of Parliament. The former Clerk of Parliament noted that 400 staff working in the various departments of Parliament House is not satisfactory, attributing it to lack of office accommodation and budgetary constraints.

Thus, he observed that the Parliamentary constitutional mandate is not being discharged satisfactorily in the face of these several budgetary and administrative constraints confronting the institution. In this regard, the security situation in the country, could be better off if conditions at Parliament could be improved. He added that the success of Parliament in the discharge of its mandate affects the clerk's office in the same proportion.

The clerk's office has responsibility to provide adequate support service for Parliament to discharge its function of the clerk as it has the power to legislate. But several logistical, administrative and budgetary constraints afflict this basic function. He pointed out that Members of Parliament hardly have the ability introduce their own private motions. Bill have to be introduced by the executive arm of government, the House does not have its own legislative draft person.