Let’s introduce question time with the President
It is about time Ghana changed course in the direction that it is going. We can only succeed if we start the change from top to bottom in our national administrative structures. For donkey’s years, our Presidents have enjoyed so much pampering for the sake of their “ Excellency”, thereby giving them the carte blanche to do things their own way.
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It is so unfair not to question our Presidents; whether they are right or wrong, their position has remained untouchable from Nkrumah to Mahama and we are sick and tired of being sick and tired in countless anxieties. In order to get things done properly, we must do the right things.
I am calling for the introduction of President’s Questions (PQs) when our Parliament is sitting, during which the President would answer questions from the leader of the opposition, backbench MPs and other Members of Parliament (MPs). PQs shall then form an important part of the Ghanaian political culture and may be held once a week on say Wednesdays or Fridays after normal business of the House.
Questions to the President must be submitted on particular days in advance to allow the President enough time to prepare to respond to the questions. If the President is away on official business when PQs are scheduled, the Vice-President could answer the questions. If both the President and his Vice are away, then the Speaker of the House cannot deputise for the Presidency and the PQs may well be postponed until the President or his Vice returns.
In the United Kingdom, we do have Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ) on Wednesdays whereby the Prime Minister answers questions from the opposition leader and other parliamentarians. This practice dates back to the 1800s and without a shadow of doubt, the PMQ sincerely guides the Prime Minister in leading the government in the best possible way.
In Ghana, there is no such requirement and so our leaders do get away with numerous questionable situations such as cash on the air plane to pay our national footballers; arranging for Guantanamo Bay reformed terrorists to come to live with us in Ghana without seeking permission from the people of Ghana by way of a referendum.
The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced a referendum on whether or not Britain should remain in the European Union to be held on June 23,2016. This is what we must emulate in Ghana instead of our Presidents making the decisions without our consent. Had we a President’s Question Time in place, the decision to bring in the former Yemeni terrorists wouldn’t have taken place without a referendum.
It is well overdue for us to start questioning our Presidents on issues pertaining to how our country is administered in order to ensure that there is competency in the direction in which our national leaders choose to take us. This is not playing party politics but ensuring that transparency, probity and accountability at the highest level prevail in our society, for if the top positions in our society gets it right, it shall transcend the positions below.
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Hearing our President answering questions directly from opposition party leadership and other parliamentarians would help guide our President to make the right decisions in the performance of his job with efficiency and competence. Unfortunately, the framers of our Constitution overlooked this. We should introduce the QT to ensure good governance.
The only time our President appears in our Parliament is to deliver the State of the Nation address once a year where the President tells the nation what he wants us to hear whether we like it or not. No one questions the President on delivery of the address and this practice has the effect of misleading the nation.
Writer’s e-mail:kypppuk@gmail.com