Ghana: Lawyer Supports Kufuor's Suggestion for Upper Chamber to Replace Council of State

28 November 2022
Ghanaian Times (Accra)

A private legal practitioner, Tachie Antiedu, has backed former President Agyekum Kufuor's call to abolish the Council of State and replace it with an Upper Chamber.

He noted that the suggestion could benefit the nation immensely since the Council of State had outlived its usefulness and its advice to an "all-powerful president" was merely a rubber stamp.

However, Mr Antiedu maintained that the Upper Chamber, with its binding powers, could help the country greatly.

Fo rmer President Kufuor has underscored the need for the country to abolish the Council of State concept in its governance structure because it had outlived its purpose and should be scrapped.

According to the former president, he had a chance to express his views on the Council of State, very honourable distinguished institution, well-meaning butdid not think it was fit for purpose given the state of progress, growth and development of the country and given the fact that the nation was determined, dedicated and committed to practising democratic governance.

To replace the Council of State, former President Kufuor proposed the establishment of the second chamber of Parliament to play the advisory role to the government and advocated the review of the 1992 Constitution to make room for the proposal.

He pointed out that in the country leadership jurisprudence having an advisory body to support and assist a traditional authority was desired and respected unfortunately, the transfer of his traditional quality into a formal governance system had not been helpful which need consideration.

Former President Kufuor indicated that"if you ask a group of people to counsel an all-powerful president, that group will rubber stamp or give an advice that the president will take because the Council of State is richly composed and if it is reconstituted as the upper chamber of our Parliament and given powers to rake binding decisions, the nation stands to profit supernormal".

"In Ghanaian leadership jurisprudence, having an advisory body to support a traditional ruler is most desired and respected. Unfortunately, the transfer of this traditional quality into a formal governance system has not been helpful.

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