Is Ghana’s Parliament So Useless That……….?

Is Ghana’s parliament so useless that even an unelected member of the executive can just by a stroke of a pen declare null and void an act of parliament? Is this the type of democracy we have? Can the president and/or a minister overturn a decision made by parliament without a resort to either the courts or parliament itself?
Dr Joe Oteng Adjei (Joe), Energy Minister is reported to have declared invalid an agreement ratified by Parliament on November 5, 2008 between Aker ASA of Norway and the Government of Ghana. In a letter dated December 30, 2009, Joe stated that the agreement is considered invalid in that it did not meet legal requirements that a Ghanaian company must be party to the agreement. Joe’s letter indicated that the November 5, 2008 Petroleum Agreement (PA) was flawed to the extent that it (PA) allegedly failed to meet the requirements demanded by PNDCL 84, and therefore ruled that what the Norwegians had requested was legally impossible since it had failed to comply with the afore-mentioned law. The letter was addressed to the President & CEO of Aker ASA Group, Simen Lieungh.
Joe may have good reasons for his action since he had had enough time to review the agreement. My concern with the whole thing is whether it is constitutionally right and for that matter legally binding for a minister of state to just pick up a pen and set aside an act of parliament? Can a minister overturn a decision made by Parliament? Do the Courts even have the power let alone an appointed minister? Under the constitution, can the judges overrule Parliament? If Joe’s action is legal then what is the purpose of parliament? What then would be the difference among an elected government, military rule and dictatorship so far as Ghana is concerned?
In November 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008, Ghana spent a considerable amount of resources to elect some responsible men and women to parliament purposely to enact laws for the betterment of our country. In the process some unfortunate Ghanaians lost their lives and/or properties, others had been maimed for life while others are yet to recover from shock. If after all these someone can just brush aside a product of parliament without flouting any rule then Ghana is really in for a very long haul.
Wherein lay our separation of powers? What happened to the use of courts to interpret statues and constitutional provisions? Is our parliament so weak, toothless, and useless that it is unable to serve as an effective pillar of checks and balance to the Executive? How can just one person terminate a contract that is ratified, signed, sealed and delivered by parliament?
Some may be rejoicing over this act, while others have no any idea what is happening. At the end of the day Ghana is the loser. Kwame Nkrumah used parliament to change the 1960 republican constitution and turned Ghana into a one party state. The military used decrees to rule Ghana and we agitated for constitutional rule. We have constitutional rule and the executive is behaving as if we are in a dictatorship – ignoring, overruling and usurping powers of parliament. This is equal to sticking our fingers into parliament’s nose. It is very disrespectful, insulting and annoying. Is there no better way of dealing with acts of parliament we disagree with other than simple push over?
Is Ghana’s Parliament so useless that its products can be dumped without a finger being raised?
Opanin Kwabena Mensah