While guaranteeing that the three arms of state are given roles which differentiate them from each other, the framers of the Constitution also found a way to intersect them in case one arm, particularly the Executive, is indisposed

[contextly_sidebar id=”bkq64YPsXFLJEJfYDchM7YKRO8VtGhP0″]Though the constitution mandates each Arm to be independent of the other, the same constitution gives room for interferences, as the president who is the head of state and head of government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ghana (Executive) can still oversee and have full president of the activities of the legislature. An example is cited in Article 106 clauses (1) the power of parliament to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by parliament and assented to by the president.

In the same vein, Article 93 clause (2) states, subject to the provision of this constitution, the legislative power of Ghana shall be vested in parliament (headed by the speaker of parliament) and shall be exercised in accordance with this constitution.

Article 60 (12) of his same constitution mandates the Speaker of Parliament who can be described as the third man of the land and also the head of the legislature, to be sworn in as the acting President in the absence of the elected Head of State and his vice.

“Where the president and the vice- president are both unable to perform the function of the president, the speaker of parliament shall perform those function until the president or vice president is able to perform those function or a new president assumes office as the case may be” (11).

“The speaker shall, before commencing to perform the function of the president under clause (11) of this article, take and subscribe the oath set out in relation to the office of president.”

A couple of weeks ago, the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has had to leave the country to attend the inauguration of new Liberian President, Geirge Weah, AU summit in Ethiopia, and the funeral of the late South Africa Jazz music legend, Hugh Masakela on two separate trips. The vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also spent the period in the United Kingdom on a medical leave after taking ill. The situation caused the Speaker of Parliament to be sworn in as acting President twice in the course of that week, all of which is constitutionally mandatory.

Two years ago, the then Chief Justice, Theodora Georgina Wood on two occasions had to swear in the Speaker of Parliament Doe Adjaho as president in the absence of President John Mahama and his vice Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur.

However, the law appeared breached when Doe Adjaho refused to be sworn in. The Supreme Court ruled as such in December, 2015 following a petition filed by managing director of Accra- based radio station Citi FM Samuel Atta Mensah and US-Ghanaian based lawyer Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare.

A nine-member supreme court panel presided by Justice Sophia Akuffo ruled that the speaker is obligated to take the oath of office as president whenever  the president and his vice are out of the country.

I stand to be corrected, but I assume Doe Adjaho was in a dilemma not knowing what the Constitution meant by saying “where the president and the vice- president are both unable to perform the function of the president, the speaker of parliament shall perform those function until the president or vice president is able to perform those function or a new president assumes office as the case may be” (11).

The expression “unable to perform their function” sounds a bit vague I must say. Is the President unable to perform his functions when he’s out of the country? Is he unable to perform his duties when he’s sick? Is he unable to perform his duties when he snuggles in between the sheets on his bed? It’s all a little too unclear.

The constitution is supposed to be the greatest law of the land, which guarantees certain basic rights for its citizens, divides and allocate power between organizations and institutions for effective implementation, why then should it be in a state of ambiguity, making it difficult to be executed?

The swearing in of the speaker of parliament has caused some upraise in the country and has drawn my attention to the loop holes in the constitution.

It’s been over 6 decades since the constitution was birthed, with the structure of the society as of that time in mind. In the space of sixty years the structure of society has changed, and greatly evolved. The structure of governance and government has modernised, technology has been introduced and is moving the world day in day out and therefore the constitution as the supreme law of the land must be transformed to meet the current and demanding trends of the world, not forgetting to be steadfast in its core mandate.

Some critics have argued that the geographical location of the president does not restrict or incapacitate him from performing his presidential duties, stating in the modern times were technology rules and aids in making communication much personal no matter your location The President can send e-mails, telegraphs from wherever he is in the world instructing his Ministers on what needs to be done, or even make calls make phone calls,” Ras Mubarak said.

The argument of the jurisdiction does not hold water for me taking the fact that the president sworn into office the foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway at the Ghanaian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when he assumed officer as president January last year because at the time she was already in Ethiopia on a national assignment. Geographical locations don’t really matter. This is placed in sharper focus given the Embassies in countries across the globe which represent Ghana, and from which the president can work.

Furthermore, the amount of money used to call in members of parliament each and every now and then to witness the swearing in of the speaker of parliament twice in a week when the president and vice are still alive and performing their presidential mandates in other countries is highly unnecessary. Such expenses could be used to develop some abandoned school structure for our children to have the best of education or even employ a number of doctors or nurses to man the numerous abandoned health facilities in the country.

I think it high time Amendments of some ambiguous and unclear laws should be reviewed to help protect and properly govern citizens.

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By: Ann-Shirley Ziwu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had expressed concerns about the plight of many Ghanaians at a number of embassies, noting the “dehumanizing treatment sometimes meted out to many applicants virtually on a daily basis.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”DuxcIArHIiDOBOA4UilEVahY5qQi7k8E”]Mr. Ablakwa also stated on the floor of Parliament that, most embassies have made “no provision for a decent and safe waiting area where visa applicants may be hosted as they wait their turn during visa interview appointments.”

Prof. Mike Oquaye, has as a result, directed the Foreign Affairs Committee to meet and deliberate on the issue, and visit some of the embassies

“Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs shall meet and deliberate on this matter through investigation and interrogation; and armed with a letter from the Speaker’s Office, they shall visit relevant embassies and places, analyse the problem, where necessary with the cooperation of Embassy staff, and our own foreign office, but independent of it, and report back to the House,” the Speaker said.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Frank Annor Dompreh, had earlier said that his Committee was aware of the situation, and would team up with the Foreign Affairs Ministry on how best to deal with this worrying trend.

“It has become so important and poignant that we take some important decisions and make some attempts to resolve this concern once and for all,” he said.

Mr. Annor Dompreh  indicated the need for a thorough investigation, saying “there are some of these embassies that are doing a very good job and they need to be supported and encouraged.”

The Speaker admitted that,  there was a need for cooperation between Parliament and the responsible Ministry, but insisted that, the House would not hesitate to take up issues that concern the interests of Ghanaians.

“I want to emphasize that, we shall always have to cooperate with the appropriate Ministries and agencies, but Parliament will not abandon its inquisitorial role of inquiring into matters that touch, concern and affect Ghanaians,” he said.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This is the third meeting of the first session of the Seventh Parliament.

Among bills to be considered during the sitting are the Zongo and Inner Cities and the Special Prosecutor bills.

President Akufo-Addo’s proposal to have August 4 declared as Founders Day and September 21 as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day will also be discussed by the House.

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye in his address before the house went on recess chided the Minority for the recent spree of attacks on him over the manner he conducts affairs in the House.

The Minority had suggested that the speaker was being biased in conducting the affairs of the house against the Minority.

The Minority said Prof. Oquaye has been sidelining them during discussions on national issues in the House.

They therefore in a protest over the issue staged a walkout in one of the final sittings.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament resumes sitting today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It will however be given “in due course”, said the speaker today [Friday].

Speaking on the floor of Parliament today [Friday] after adjourning sitting on Thursday evening, following a heated debate on the report, Prof. Mike Oquaye said “matters regarding ruling on the special committee findings and matters arising will be delivered in due course.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”aDCj3rxRw3tixsZwtBy1J3UtUHCVJ6Pr”]There was a heated debate on the floor of house on Thursday [March 30, 2017], when the house convened to consider the report by the special fact-finding committee looking into the bribery case.

The report among other things said the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, had been found guilty of contempt of parliament and must render an unqualified apology to the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joe Osei-Owusu.

However, in his comments about the report’s recommendations, Mr. Ayariga reluctantly apologized, saying “Mr. Speaker if you say I should apologize, I apologize.”

He further questioned why the committee would cite him for being in contempt when the bribery commission did not use a criminal prosecution procedure.

This provoked contentions in the house, forcing the Speaker of Parliament to defer the matter to Friday, March 31, 2017.

The Speaker however on Friday expressed belief that it was not the right time to deliver a ruling on the matter hence has deferred it indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Parliament has extended its sitting for this meeting by an additional week. This is according to majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.

The house was expected to rise yesterday, Thursday [March 30, 2017].

But presenting the business statement to the house, the Leader said due to additional government business the house is expected to deal with, it will rise next by Friday 7th April, 2017.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has however proposed that the House rises by Wednesday, 4th April, 2017.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post I’ll deliver ruling on bribery report ‘in due course’ – Oquaye appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

His comment revives the long-standing debate about the actual founder of  Ghana especially after the president, Nana Akufo-Addo subtly also suggested so in the address he delivered at Ghana’s 60^th independence anniversary parade.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JlVkzmbhRyrL0ltXVcZOaHKLdh6yZQdt”]The Political Science Professor argued that the independence struggle was not championed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah alone and the glory of independence could therefore not be attributed to him alone.

Speaking at the Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) showing of a documentary of the political history of Ghana between 1844 and the Fourth Republican Constitution, Prof Mike Oquaye condemned the current history curriculum which credited Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as a founder of independent Ghana and said it was misleading.

“We are not searching apparently about anything including our GDP, Tema Oil Refinery debts, vital statistics that are simple to ascertain in many parts of the world. And this has been an unfortunate part of our history so much so that, today we celebrate one founding father which is palpable false, we have founding fathers. I’ll like to see Nkrumah celebrated by way of a holiday in his honour as the first President. A president who had a lot of vision in terms of education, health, African unity and so many area of our national development but definitely not as the founder of this nation because it is palpably false,” he said.

The erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government with the approval of Parliament declared Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday, 21st September as a statutory public holiday; thus Founder’s Day, to recognize Nkrumah for his tremendous contribution towards the independence of Ghana and Liberation struggle for the entire African continent.

But according to Prof. Oquaye, he expects that the country celebrates a founders’ day, which will honour all others who contributed to Ghana’s independence and not single out Nkrumah.

“It pains me particularly that we teach our children such false history. I look forward to the day where the founder’s day will be founders’ day and we shall all celebrate those who really together founded this nation, including Kwame Nkrumah,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Nkrumah not the founder of Ghana – Mike Oquaye appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows the arrest of 41 suspected middlemen who allegedly issued fake vehicle documents to clients of the Authority.

The DVLA said activities of the “Goro Boys” interrupted the professional operations of the Authority as they harass and intercept documents from clients supposedly to be sent to DVLA officials.

They also extort money from DVLA clients ostensibly to help them acquire driving documents but end up giving the customers fake document such as drivers’ licenses, roadworthy stickers and registration papers.

The DVLA’s Greater Accra Regional Manager, Noah Matey, said: “The war on Goro Boys was ignited by the Tiger Eye revelations of underhand dealings at DVLA offices.”

According to him, the ages of the middlemen arrested in the swoop ranged between 23 and 40 years and they are currently behind bars at the Airport Police Station.

They are to be screened and the innocent ones will be released.

Mr Matey said, in the past, the Authority adopted persuasive mechanism including the use of public address systems to educate clients about services available, direct clients to offices and an electronic display of services and prices to wade-off the “Goro Boys.”

He said the Authority also resorted to the use of staff identification badges and warnings to clients about the illegal activities of Goro Boys but all proved futile.

According to him, the DVLA employees caught dealing with any Goro Boy will also be arrested and dealt with according to the law.

He appealed to clients to use approved processes of acquiring registration documents and drivers’ licenses to avoid issuance of fake documents.

Mr Matey noted that the DVLA had introduced an online registration system for customers to access and fill their application forms in order to facilitate the documentation process.

Customers only need to present their invoices to the DVLA to begin the processes for license acquisition, vehicle registration and vehicle roadworthy tests.

The police carried out the swoop on Goro Boys last Wednesday following a request by the DVLA management.

Following the swoop, activities in and around the DVLA Accra Regional Office near the 37th Military Hospital reduced as the Goro Boys fled the area.

Some of them were arrested at the DVLA office at Weija in a similar swoop.

The Airport Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Yao Tettegah said the police will prosecute the suspects and that the swoop was the first in a series to rid the DVLA offices of Goro Boys.

He advised the public to stop dealing with them since they risked receiving fake drivers’ licenses and other documents.

Source: GNA

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