Executive dominance over Parliament: Constitutional amendment vital to address problem
This year's Harmattan School, organised by the Institute for Continuing Education and Interdisciplinary Research ( ICEIR) of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale has ended with a call for constitutional amendment to address the problem of executive dominance, particularly over Parliament, in order to improve checks and balances.
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The participants, who were drawn from the academia, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, policy makers, security agencies and the media noted that an efficient parliament would ensure a vibrant democracy and accountability.
This was contained in a communique issued after the two-day conference on the theme “ Accountable Governance: A Key to National Development".
The participants also called for an urgent need for attitudinal change by all Ghanaians through ethical crusade or social re-engineering.
That, they said, should be done from the home through the school system to the workplaces.
They recommended that Ghanaians should be bold to name and shame those involved in corruption and called for a stiffer punishment for corrupt individuals according to the laws of the country.
The participants further recommended that all the relevant laws in Ghana on corruption should be implemented to the letter, while the government should create the appropriate means and mechanisms for enhanced accountable governance in both public and private institutions.
They also called for state institutions mandated to fight corruption to be empowered to be independent in the performance of their statutory functions and for the delayed information bill to be passed into law while the Whistle Blowers' Act was pursued vigorously.
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" Citizens, civil society organisations should demand and secure space within the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) system for engagement on issues of transparency and accountability in the management of resources and services,” the participants said.
The participants further called on the government to work on expanding opportunities for inclusion in representation, participation and enjoyment of the dividends of economic and social development, as well as democracy.
They observed that there was the need to move local governance closer to the people and the issue of the winner-takes-all in our political dispensation should be re-examined in the light of a true multiparty democracy.
At the end of the programme, the participants saw the task of enhancing accountable governance in all sectors of the Ghanaian state as a collective endeavour.
" if the citizens of Ghana can hold themselves accountable for the things they say and do at the workplaces, schools, churches, mosques, and the market places, among others, accountable governance could become a reality in Ghana," the participants observed.
Earlier in his closing remarks, Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UDS, urged Ghanaians to account for their stewardship since without it, there would be no meaningful development in the country.
He said corruption started from selfishness and greed and, therefore, suggested that the fight against corruption should start from the home, churches, mosques and educational institutions.
Prof. Teye added his voice to the on-going debate on the 679 presidential staffers, saying “we are being told that the nation's wage bill is too high, yet we have 679 presidential staffers and people are on radio justifying it.
" The fact that someone did that in the past is not a justification for you to do it now.”
Prof. Teye also urged Ghanaians to begin to question the sources of people’s wealth “since in Ghana, we tend to glorify riches”.