Hmmm. I was wondering where all these arguments started from. They should have left it for us who have no law background so that they correct us. In any case, I don't even support the council of elders provision in the consti ... read full comment
Hmmm. I was wondering where all these arguments started from. They should have left it for us who have no law background so that they correct us. In any case, I don't even support the council of elders provision in the constitution since their decisions are not even binding on the President. Just rubber stamp
Best Ghana Lover 7 years ago
Okuampa, the point Sampson made was in relation to provisions of the constitution which spells out the procedure to adopt in making appointments ! You may not like a provision in the Constitution but that is the law until ame ... read full comment
Okuampa, the point Sampson made was in relation to provisions of the constitution which spells out the procedure to adopt in making appointments ! You may not like a provision in the Constitution but that is the law until amended !
Don't see the basis for Okuampa's argument. Interpretation of the law is best left to lawyers and judges not any ordinary man on the street like Okuampa '.
Concience 7 years ago
Going forward I think former presidents should be made members of the council of elders in order to tap into their experiences for the sake of the nation.
Going forward I think former presidents should be made members of the council of elders in order to tap into their experiences for the sake of the nation.
Kwabena Ansa 7 years ago
The truth is, there will always be people who will always be against and oppose Nana no matter what. I cannot imagine Mr. Anyenini with all his legal mind, could use his legal knowledge to throw dust into Ghanaians eyes by tw ... read full comment
The truth is, there will always be people who will always be against and oppose Nana no matter what. I cannot imagine Mr. Anyenini with all his legal mind, could use his legal knowledge to throw dust into Ghanaians eyes by twisting and concocting a false interpretation of Article 89-92 of our Constitution. Mr. Anyenini, no matter how you interpret Article 89-92, Nana has the mandate and the legal basis on his side to appoint people he is comfortable with and wants to work with, the same goes with the selection of Council of State members.
CORNEY 7 years ago
You and Okoampa are displaying your ignorance, Okoampa does not know what he is talking about,that article in the constitution is written in simple English,the appointments must be made in consultation with Council of State, ... read full comment
You and Okoampa are displaying your ignorance, Okoampa does not know what he is talking about,that article in the constitution is written in simple English,the appointments must be made in consultation with Council of State,it is based on that when Attah Mils government took over they appointed the people in ACTING capacity awaiting constituting of the Council of State,the new president did not do that initially but has now reversed to that having all these appointees in ACTING positions which instead of Okoampa checking he as usual rushed to wrote this article to display his ignorance.
Anyway,can someone educate Okoampa on what is a landslide since he doesn't know it?
BERNARD 7 years ago
ARE (0540527508) YOU A STUDENT,GOVERNMENT
WORKER,
OR UNEMPLOYED LOOKING FOR A BUSINESS TO DO ON PART TIME / FULL TIME.
CALL MR ABOAGYE NOW !!!!!!
ARE (0540527508) YOU A STUDENT,GOVERNMENT
WORKER,
OR UNEMPLOYED LOOKING FOR A BUSINESS TO DO ON PART TIME / FULL TIME.
CALL MR ABOAGYE NOW !!!!!!
Dennis 7 years ago
I don't trust this young man
I don't trust this young man
G. K. Berko 7 years ago
Between the Council of State and the Supreme Court, I wish we would have to revisit the Constitution to remove the condition that permits the President to choose as many as we know they could, now, to serve on them. The idea ... read full comment
Between the Council of State and the Supreme Court, I wish we would have to revisit the Constitution to remove the condition that permits the President to choose as many as we know they could, now, to serve on them. The idea would have been a method of choosing these folks without any deference to the Executive. But it would be much better than the status quo to limit the Executive's choices to a minimum.
Already, we have a weird near-regal Presidency that wields way too much Power to steer the Nation in any direction, with the inputs or guidance of the Judiciary and the Legislature being a mere rubber-stamp appendices of the Administration.
So, given the President so much latitude to appoint so many members to these crucial Institutions that could be necessary additional checks on the Executive defeats the purpose for which those Institutions exist.
The Council of State as we know it by its Constitutional mandate is only an advisory Board with little to no restrictive power on how the Nation is run. Yet, it could well have been tuned to serve as some Upper House of Parliament, like in a bicameral Legislator to be more effective a governing apparatus.
Ever its inception in Ghana, the CoS seems to have been a convenient repository of individuals the President ought to appease for not assigning them Cabinet portfolios, or other high level appointments in his or her Administration. Its real impact on our governance, therefore, ranges from zilch to minuscule, depending on what issue it may tend to butt in on. Its inputs on who the President appoints to serve with him have always been a rubber-stamp of what the President wishes. Hardly has the President ever had to change direction on any Policy as a result of some advice from the august 'Advisory Board'. Yet, we pay them handsome emoluments.
The Supreme Court, which serves at the very apogee of our Judiciary, the third operational arm of Government that is supposed to keep us all in order, and administer fair Justice to all, has also been designed to remain susceptible to the whims of the Executive. The legal luminaries on the Court are, by large, vulnerable to the subterfuge of the President that appointed them to serve on it. And especially as the President could choose to pack it up any time to influence a decision before it in his/her favor. The seeming extensible S.C. plays into the hands of the Executive for the purpose indicated above.
Our Legislature, the cradle of Laws that our Constitution comprises, also has the Executive's tentacles embedded in it to draw the President's Cabinet from. That requirement has the effect of coercing Members of Parliament, especially, those from the President's Party, to play ball as the President wants them to. These MPs would want the President to see them in his/her favor, and thus, retain hardly any restraining verve to rein in the President when he or she goes astray.
Therefore, from all angles, our Presidency has been afforded enormous Power that none of the checks and balances expected from the Judiciary and the Legislature mean much to keep the Executive in proper lines for the Nation's best interests. And with such a near docile CoS, the President can always have his/her way. All this brings up a serious constraint in our governance machinery. And that is, our Presidents would always enjoy unimpeachable status, no matter what Laws they breach. Hence, the galloping, runaway Corruption canker we are living with.
It is also for the same reasons that we see Professor Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr. justifiably strongly protecting the rights of his most favored President, and Uncle, Akufo-Addo, to appoint a new group of members for the CoS that is allowable under the current Constitutional arrangement, in protest against Sampson Anyenini's opinion for the President to leave the CoS intact.
If only we had a different, mode of making CoS appointments that would not satiate any parochial wishes of the President, we would not be witnessing this confrontation between the two luminaries. But it is more for the sake of curbing the Executive's latitude that access to the CoS membership ought to be redesigned.
Long Live Ghana!!!
G. K. Berko 7 years ago
I meant to say:
1). ".to choose as many as we know He/SHE could,.."
2). "The IDEAL would have been a method of.."
I meant to say:
1). ".to choose as many as we know He/SHE could,.."
2). "The IDEAL would have been a method of.."
Jerry 7 years ago
The Council of State has outlived its usefulness. What is the use of such a supposed high-powered Council which views cannot be binding on the person they advise? Between the Council of State and the Cabinet of the day, which ... read full comment
The Council of State has outlived its usefulness. What is the use of such a supposed high-powered Council which views cannot be binding on the person they advise? Between the Council of State and the Cabinet of the day, which body has a better insight into prevailing and or current issues?
I think there is an unnecessary duplication of functions here. The provision setting up the Council of State, to my mind, should be scrapped. It is clearly a waste pipe to the economy.
Hmmm. I was wondering where all these arguments started from. They should have left it for us who have no law background so that they correct us. In any case, I don't even support the council of elders provision in the consti ...
read full comment
Okuampa, the point Sampson made was in relation to provisions of the constitution which spells out the procedure to adopt in making appointments ! You may not like a provision in the Constitution but that is the law until ame ...
read full comment
Going forward I think former presidents should be made members of the council of elders in order to tap into their experiences for the sake of the nation.
The truth is, there will always be people who will always be against and oppose Nana no matter what. I cannot imagine Mr. Anyenini with all his legal mind, could use his legal knowledge to throw dust into Ghanaians eyes by tw ...
read full comment
You and Okoampa are displaying your ignorance, Okoampa does not know what he is talking about,that article in the constitution is written in simple English,the appointments must be made in consultation with Council of State, ...
read full comment
ARE (0540527508) YOU A STUDENT,GOVERNMENT
WORKER,
OR UNEMPLOYED LOOKING FOR A BUSINESS TO DO ON PART TIME / FULL TIME.
CALL MR ABOAGYE NOW !!!!!!
I don't trust this young man
Between the Council of State and the Supreme Court, I wish we would have to revisit the Constitution to remove the condition that permits the President to choose as many as we know they could, now, to serve on them. The idea ...
read full comment
I meant to say:
1). ".to choose as many as we know He/SHE could,.."
2). "The IDEAL would have been a method of.."
The Council of State has outlived its usefulness. What is the use of such a supposed high-powered Council which views cannot be binding on the person they advise? Between the Council of State and the Cabinet of the day, which ...
read full comment