Ghana’s Parliament is simply an extension of the executive

The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George, has expressed concern about the effectiveness of the country’s legislature.

Speaking on the AM Show on Tuesday, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker said even though Parliament is supposed to be a distinct organ that holds the executive accountable, it is unable to fully do so.

According to him, the inability of Parliament to effectively discharge its duties is due to the situation where some members of the executive arm also happen to be Members of Parliament.

Bemoaning the situation, the MP said the current structure affects parliamentary oversight, making Parliament look like an extension of the executive.

“We don’t have separation of powers in Ghana. We assume that we have separation of powers in Ghana but we don’t.

“Parliament is an extension; and forgive me, but with the greatest of respect to Parliament. Parliament is simply an appendage of the executive”, Sam George said.

The MP made these remarks while commenting on the ongoing vetting of ministers by Parliament.

The exercise, which began on Monday has so far witnessed the scrutiny of president Akufo-Addo’s recent nominees to fill certain vacant ministerial portfolios.

Touching on the ongoing process, Sam George said there is the need for more time to be allocated to such vetting processes in order to get the best of results.

In his view, since time immemorial, parliamentary vetting have not been exhaustive due to the limited duration to complete the process.

He said this needs to be reviewed in order to ensure that nominated appointees are properly examined to ascertain their suitability for the offices they have been appointed to occupy.

The process will however, continue today in Parliament.

At the moment, Minister for Trade and Industry-designate, Kobina Tahir Hammond and his deputy, Dr Stephen Amoah are amongst those who have faced the Vetting Committee.

The process has so far seen some interesting exchanges between some nominees and the panel.

Meanwhile, members of the Minority in Parliament say in line with their calls for the size of government to be reduced, they will not accept Akufo-Addo’s recent appointments.

This position was further stressed by Sam George in his interview with Benjamin Akakpo on the AM Show, Wednesday morning.