National Chairman Hopeful for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Akwasi Osei-Adjei, has bemoaned the excessive power Ghanaian presidents wield.
Since the Fourth Republic, Ghana has seen changes in government which ordinarily creates a new era. Incoming administrations cleans up the entire structure of their predecessors and bring in “trustworthy” officials to work with in order to avoid “sabotages” in their reign as ruling governments.
In his view, Hon. Akwasi Osei-Adjei, believes the frequent change of government officials after a new government could be a retrogressive factor to Ghana’s development. He reiterated the need for the review and amendment of some laws in the 1992 constitution.
In an exclusive interview on Happy98.9 FM’s “Epa Hoa Daben” socio-political talk show with Don Kwabena Prah, the former Foreign Minister said power within the centralized system of governance in Ghana’s political culture needs to be decentralized in order to facilitate the developmental agenda.
“I think we need to review our Constitution and change or amend some of the laws. A Ghanaian president is the most powerful man in the world. He has more powers than the American president. In 1992, we wanted to pamper Rawlings in order for him to leave office that’s why we gave him so much power to do almost everything he desired. How does a President appoint a DCE?” he witted.
According to him, District Chief Executives (DCEs) are literally agents for development, while Members of Parliament are law makers. Hence, the development of local assemblies and communities should be entrusted in the hands of the DCEs
“The DEC is there to represent the people in a particular area and at the same time should be put in charge of the development of the place. MPs are not agents for developments, they are law makers. For the past years we have had DCEs appointed by presidents so they always work in president’s agenda than the interest of the common people they serve. When there’s a new president, obviously he would allow those in charge to leave, because he didn’t appoint them,” he added.
