CHIEFS SHOULD REMAIN OUT OF PARTISAN POLITICS (PAGE 14, MAY 26, 2010)

PARTICIPANTS at a special forum on consultations towards a review of the constitution in Takoradi have maintained that chiefs should stay clear of active partisan politics to ensure their neutrality, as well as the respect they command, in their respective communities.
They noted that politics was full of insults and that chiefs were likely to be insulted by their political opponents if they were allowed to engage in active politics.
They also submitted that Members of Parliament (MPs) should focus on their core business of law making and not be appointed as ministers of state by the President or only a small percentage of MPs should be appointed as ministers, instead of the more than 50 per cent, as it pertained now.
Some of the participants also suggested that MPs should be given term limits and not permitted to remain MPs forever.
They called for the curtailment of executive power, which made the President too powerful, particularly in the appointment of people to top positions in the country.
They suggested that the Judicial Council should be responsible for the appointment of the Chief Justice to ensure the independence of the Judiciary, as enshrined in the Constitution.
They also suggested that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) should be elected to enable them to be committed to the people in their respective areas.
A senior citizen, Mr J.E. Amissah, proposed that those nominated by the President for ministerial positions should be vetted by the 25-member Council of State, since it was ridiculous for the Appointments Committee of Parliament to vet members of the committee who had been nominated by the President for them to later come back to vet others.
A consultant to the Commission, Mr Joseph Mantey, said it was important for all Ghanaians to help in the review of the Constitution, noting that it was the supreme law of the land but many Ghanaians had not had the opportunity to contribute to its making.