John Mills is the president of Ghana.
by Etse Sikanku
Even though Ghana’s recent electoral triumph may be viewed as a sign of political gain it is no certification of its democratic credentials. One of our governance institutions which need to be re-looked at is the Council of State. According to Article 89(1) of the Ghanaian constitution, “There shall be a Council of State to counsel the President in the performance of his functions.” So how exactly are members appointed?
“Remember Nanfuri? He’s the big man’s man…a diminutive but fearful chap whose guerilla tactics kept the BNI active. Such a shame I can’t possibly make him IGP.
“Oh yeah…an old officer who got embarrassed by the kukurudu NRC and Sawundi’s crocodile tears. He kicked the hell outta that corporal by the way. He certainly deserves some reward…Council of state?”
“That’d be great. Noko fio for the old man huh”
“What about Hajia?”
“Hajia Hajara Aliu, the waakye seller?”
“Of course, of course she’s been a cute loyalist and we can always call it grassroots democracy.”
“Awesome…we could even use her to check the bi-partisan column since she’s PNC. Damn good waakye she serves, that woman.”
On paper, the idea of a council of state sounds glamorous. The more common argument is that it’s an appropriate fusion of our traditional notion of council of elders and western democracy. Within the corridors of civic opinion it was seen as an idyllic route to seek the highly reasoned views of experts, and ‘respectable’ people without engaging in the verbal wars of a parliamentary chamber. But in reality, does anyone really know what happens in a Council of State meeting? All we get to hear about this secret society of wise men is:
“The Council of State called on H.E. President J.A. Kufuor to congratulate him and wish him well after the President miraculously escaped unhurt from a fatal accident at the Opeibea house intersection in Accra.”
Or as gbc.com had it:
“Professor Kofi Awoonor has been unanimously elected as Chairman of the Council of State. This was at an extra-ordinary session of the Council held at the Castle.”
I get the fact that they represent a sort of traditional elderly advisory council but why then do we have a Council of Chiefs? Stripped of its political correctness the Council of State is a redundant and absolutely unnecessary entity which exists to do the bidding of the president. As an economically dependent third world country we do not need the added burden of taxing Ghanaian citizens to pay for the salaries and fat benefits of a Council of State. Heck, that is why we elected a ‘wise’ president, a parliament, appoint ministers of state, their deputies and Castle aides to carry on the business of governance.
The question that needs to be asked is this: can we not survive without the burden of a Council of State?
Some suggest that the Council in Ghana functions in the way an Upper chamber does in a bicameral system. When President Mills inaugurated the recent council of elders he compared their role to a second camber. Now countries which have a second chamber do so because of their size, (for instance US and Nigeria), concerns over representation, the need to double check legislation from the House of Representatives and to serve as a bulwark against an all powerful executive.
The members are elected through very competitive and nail biting elections and are responsible not to the president but to the electorate. If we want to have a second chamber of parliament, we should say so but that will be a matter for another day.
As it stands now the council of states is no different from a kitchen parliament. Kufuor used it mostly as a nursing home or political sanctuary where he ran to seek solace anytime things got too hot to handle. They seem to perform the role of a second chamber but at the behest of the president. Honestly, how can they stand up to the president when over half of the members owe their allegiance to him?
No one doubts the need to have checks and balances, a necessary condition in any worthy democracy. In fact some members of the Council of State deserve to be in any legislative chamber. But where the members in question can be passionate, loyal and sycophantic choirboys, so too can their policies.
My concern is that the consolidated fund in being charged for the functions of a superfluous body which is largely unaccountable and seen as haven to reward party loyalists. The idea is well intentioned but in practice, self defeating.
It should be noted that institutionalized democracy with fancy names is nothing more than a ponzi scheme.It is frankly embarrassing to see that someone even thought up this idea and such a disgrace that Ghanaians have allowed it to exist all this while in a country which has been help up to the world as an example of democratic prosperity in Africa. These are some of the things which creates leaks in Africa's begging bowl. The Council of state sounds like a place for lazy party fanatics with no knowledge. Is there anything wrong with just destroying the body?
ReplyDelete..agreed. the council of state in the context of today's Ghana is just like a vestigial organ is the biologists would say. it is superfluous, unnecessary and a complete waste of everybody's time. excellent insights Etse.
ReplyDeleteYou do present a forceful argument. However, the fulcrum of much of your argument is that 1. we dont know the details of how the council of state works, 2. we cannot subject its activities to an objective assessment and 3. membership is skewed in favor of the ruling party (even smacks of 'job for the 'old guns')
ReplyDeleteHowever, if that is all the basis you can give, then I remain unconvinced about your position. The fact that we dont know all the details about something does not mean its bad. Infact there are certain things that need to be kept secret to be effective. I am among those who believe the council of state should advice the president in camera. Also, advice is subjective and may or may not be heeded.
As for the issue of someone being a waakye seller and all, I think its an unfair blow below the belt that should not have been thrown. Are you suggesting that being a waakye seller makes you less able to give advice? You dont need university degree to understand the bread and butter issues of life. If degrees were a requirement, I particularly will not find them useful in the long run because its embarrasing what the educated elite is doing in Ghana. We pay them huge sums to serve us and what do we get in return? They laud over us, take fat salaries and go home stripping even the curtians off thier living quarters.
please do come again....
Wow i have to quote you on this next time “vestigial organisms”. Your comment is plain and definitely to the point -- I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteRichmond, even though I’m hardly convinced of your opinion, I must say that was deep and insightful...thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhether the council holds their meetings in camera or not is beside the point. My biggest problem is when you insist that something is relevant when it clearly is not. In many ways the council of state is pretty much like the Freemasons without the religious rituals.
That the council of state is irrelevant is bad enough but not realizing this is actually nothing more than a zombie political fraternity just blows my mind. Even the Gamma Phi Beta undertakes community service initiatives.
I agree--everyone can make a good argument for Hajia Hajara Aliu. But hey, do we really need her to go sit in camera with the president in order for government business to go on? Everyone knows this is nothing but (at the risk of belaboring the point) some “job for the boys.” Simple. It’s so pathetic that instead of standing up to our civic responsibilities we’re prepared to make excuses just because we have sympathies for the president or the party in power. Only in Africa.
The Council of State is a good idea. The people on it are good people but what is better for our country is not having them there at all. And now more so than ever.
"...the council of state in the context of today's Ghana is just like a vestigial organ..." (DK, 2009)
ReplyDeleteThat's just so spot on
The real frustration with all these organs is when ordinary citizens decide to turn a blind eye to such wasteful spending of the consolidated fund. Sure we need people to advise the president but at the current cost, i think the council should be demolished. 230 members of parliament for a country as small as Ghana is enough wasteful spending.
ReplyDeleteI think the character of Ghanaians willing to accept anything presented to them is the genesis of this whole problem. I can at this point build a solid link between Godwin's Colonial Hangover and Etse's Council of State. Everything that is copied from the 'obroni' is good without doubt, forgetting that unlike Africans, they have little geographical, polical and ethnic demarcations that favour their mode of governance.
ReplyDeleteAs i was saying, it is the little things we ignore that build up to such level we cannot control. if the ordinary citizen of a Black and African community is feeling reluctant to collect his due in change of a say a pecewa (in Ghana)from a drivers mate or from a purchase made or buys products and services and pays more than the price on the lable at a supermarket for the most foolish reason of being looked down upon, keeping quiet when the attendant tells him or her there is no change available and he walks away. You can't do this in 'Obroniland'. This is why the system takes advantage of us and make us pay unreasonable taxes which are used to line the pocket of the 'politrician'. WE DON'T NEED NO COUNCIL OF STATE. PERIOD!!
AFRICA, LETS BEWARE!!
High priest, you couldn't have said it any better. Some Ghanaians are so docile and always quick to say "fama nyame" in order to justify this demeanor. It is clear that even in the USA there's the recognition that not everything that's done is perfect. I think the backlash against the council of state should be in the magnitude of what we saw against the AIG executives. This is no laughing matter...if we really want to be the so called "big brother" we often claim to be...we have to be bold enough to call a spade a spade.
ReplyDelete