The President of policy think tank, IMANI
Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe has described as needless the role of the Council of
State in the country.“I don’t subscribe to a council of state, I think
it is needless,” he said on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on
Saturday.
Ghana’s 1992 constitution mandates the Council of State to
advise the President in respect to any appointments he makes.
Though the
election of members to the Council of State is yet to be done, the President,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a number of appointments in recent times
with many operating in acting capacities.
Speaking on The Big Issue on
Saturday, Franklin Cudjoe said though he does not seek to bastardize
institutions set up by the constitution, he explained that several precedents
had shown that the Council of State is usually sidelined by presidents during
decision making time.
“I’m not saying that the legal issues do not
matter, not at all, I think they do matter…my thinking really is that the
council of state will likely agree with the President’s nominee. The council of
state is a body I’m not entirely enthused about. I think we don’t really need
the council of state right now because the leaders rarely rely on them,” the
president of IMANI Ghana argued.
He explained that “during the STX
debacle in Mills’ time, a member of the council of state at the time said on
radio that they were there to advice but nobody came to them.”
“So my
issue is that in spite of a constitutional animal that says this should be done,
to be fair, was the council of state going to say anything different?. I’m not
by the way bustard zing institutions that have been set up…Having said that I’d
add that I don’t subscribe to a council of state, I think it is needless,” he
maintained.
EC opens nomination for Council of State
election
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission is currently
accepting nominations form persons desiring to be part of the Council of
State.
The nominations which commenced on January 20 will be closed on
January 26, 2017.
So far a total of 35 people drawn from three regions
have filed to contest the Council of State election slated for February
9.
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