We need a new constitution that’ll place a cap on number of ministers – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has called for a new constitution that would place a cap on the number of ministers a president can appoint.

His call comes on the back of continues demand by opposition political parties, civil society organisations, academia, media and cross section of the populace for President Akufo-Addo to downsize his government.

Speaking at the launch of the 30th anniversary celebration of parliamentary democracy in Ghana on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, the Suame MP said “We need a constitutional order that would mitigate the winner takes all attitude and prevent the do-or-die combat associated with our elections. We need a new constitutional order that would prevent the constant increase in the number of seats in Parliament.

“We need a new constitutional order that would put a cap in the number of ministers of state. We need a new constitutional order that would ensure that the Speaker of Parliament is a serving member of Parliament,” he added.

Speaking at the same event, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin said elections and successful government changeovers are not the only determinants of a working democracy.

Although Ghana has had eight successive elections and four government change-overs between the two major political parties [NPP and NDC], in Mr Bagbin’s view, the nation must focus on strengthening its democratic institutions “if we want to have a sustainable democracy.”

He noted that past Speakers have been pivotal in strengthening the pillars of Ghana’s democracy through their contributions and sacrifices.

He reminded lawmakers that Ghana has been chosen to host the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) annual conference from 30th August to 6th September 2023.

According to him, the choice of Ghana to host the conference in itself is proof of how the world sees and rates the nation’s parliamentary democracy.

The theme for the 30th anniversary celebration is “30 years of parliamentary democracy in the Fourth Republic: the journey thus far”.

The year-long celebration is being planned by a committee chaired by the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea.

The celebration will zone the country into six. Programmes will be planned to suit the peculiarities of each of the six zones, Speaker Bagbin revealed.