Randy Abbey sounds caution over continous appointment of party members into state institutions

Dr Randy Abbey, the host of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana has warned that the country is treading dangerous paths with the continuous appointment of known members of political parties into institutions that per the dictates of the constitution, are supposed to be independent.

Dr Randy Abbey is worried that a bad precedent is being set with the proliferation of political figures into state institutions that are supposed to be free from political colorization and interference.

Speaking on the Friday, 07 April 2023 edition of his show, Dr Randy Abbey bemoaned the continued abuse of the use of discretion by presidents who have served under the fourth republic.

Providing a historical context to his argument, Dr Randy advanced the point that successive governments have abused the use of discretion and infiltrated independent state institutions with their members.

He warned that a time will come when Kwon party members will hold top-level positions in independent institutions and that will be the last straw.

“As I sit here, I get worried and the kind respect that the framers of the constitution gave to leaders of the fourth republic to use their discretion in doing this in the interest of the state I’m sure if the framers of the constitution had the opportunity today, they would take back all of that.

“We sit here and see how the use of discretion has been abused. How positions in the public service have been politicized to the extent that now we have moved from even the top to middle-level management as far as appointments are concerned. There’s a reason why the framers of the Constitution decided that some institutions ought to be independent.

“As a people, we should know ourselves. When we allow one yard, tomorrow it will be ten yards, and the next day it will be twenty yards. If today people are known and seen to be communicating for a political party, if you say that it is okay and pass, tomorrow if there are four vacancies and another party decides that a person who holds a political position ought appointed there, what are we going to say? We are creating excuses.

“We ought to be careful how we support some of these things. Today you are in power, tomorrow you’ll not be in power and somebody decides that you did two yards so they will do 300 meters and there will be no basis for anybody to raise any issues because we did it and defended it,” he said.

Dr Randy Abbey’s words of caution come on the back of the appointment of a man believed to be a member of the New Patriotic Party to the Electoral Commission.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently swore in three new members of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The three are Dr. Peter Appiahene, Madam Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Reverend Akua Ofori Boateng.

They took office at a short Jubilee House ceremony on Monday, March 20, 2023.

The appointments have, however, seen some criticisms by some factions in the public with members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) accusing President Akufo-Addo of packing the commission with members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).