What Sam Jonah thinks about Ghana’s governance system

Ghana's 1992 Constitution, Sir Sam Jonah says, has created a monstrous executive which looms large over the other arms of the governance structure.

According to him, Ghanaians since 1992 have elected only the NPP and NDC administrations to steer the affairs of the nation, but “the very nature of our democratic setup is our undoing”.

Jonah, the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa, told Rotarians in Accra Thursday, April 22, during a special lecture that the three arms of government are like a tripod; “for stability, each leg must have enough strength to stand. In our system, one leg i.e. the executive has more strength than the other two combined.”

He added: “In fact, the two seem to derive their strengths from that of the executive, thus weakening checks and balances. Any party that comes to power has absolute power to do whatever they want.

The 1992 Constitution is the basis for the current democratic dispensation. It created a monstrous executive which looms large over the other arms of the governance structure, and for 28 years, we have failed to make any meaningful changes to strengthen our democracy. Actually, what we have is an ‘Executocracy’, not a democracy.”

Sam Jonah explained that the president is supposed to appoint the majority of his ministers from Parliament. “By definition, that makes Parliament a rubber stamp, because no MP in the ruling party will be able to stand up and demand accountability from the executive – they are all scrambling for positions!”

He observed, “The Judiciary is no different. The president has a determining role in the appointment of all the judges of the Supreme Court including the Chief Justice.

“This festers the perception that the situation compromises the impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Indeed, a large section of the citizenry believes that the judiciary is not impartial, with 85 per cent of Ghanaians in a recent Afrobarometer survey perceiving the judiciary as corrupt and ineffective.”

Sam Jonah disclosed his experience with the judiciary is that of frustration, lengthy and costly proceedings. “Some lawyers take pride in being masters of legal gymnastics. Every opportunity to delay cases are seized. The Commercial Courts which were set up to speed up the dispensation of justice have been a huge disappointment. Disputes involving land overwhelm the courts. Land acquisition is the most important factor in investment decision-making. Any prolonged litigation over land frustrates the investor,” he said.

Sam Jonah continued: “It has been said that the enclave that houses the lands commission, lands valuation and title deeds registry is arguably the most corrupt enclave in the world. It cannot be good for investment. But corruption pervades all aspects of our governance system.

“A few years ago, a prominent member of parliament said publicly that parliamentarians take bribes to pass bills that favour their sponsors. Ladies and gentlemen, if a fish comes out from the water to tell us that the crocodile has one eye, who are we to doubt it? Incidentally, the said MP is now the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Alban Bagbin.

Our governments pay lip service to anti-corruption but do little substantially to cure the canker. Which of the major corruption issues has been conclusively dealt with since the Fourth Republic began?

“There have been major corruption scandals and none has been conclusively dealt with. I could give you a long list of unsolved corruption cases but there is no need to bore you with something you are all so familiar with.

“As a friend of mine will say, the problem with corruption is not the absence of laws, but the certainty of punishment. Sadly, there is rather a certainty that corrupt people especially in high places will never face punishment. And this has bred impunity in those who would rather take it all for themselves through dubious means than serve the common good. We cannot go anywhere if this situation continues. No country can develop without dealing decisively with corruption.”