Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has supported former President John Agyekum Kufuor's call for the Council of State to be replaced with a Second Chamber.
Mr. Kufour, speechifying at a forum organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra on Tuesday, November 22, called for an amendment of the 1992 Constitution as he suggested that the Council of State should be scrapped.
He said; “I have gone through all these periods and I have come to the conclusion that perhaps, what our constitution should have, is to temper the extremes of our democracy. It is not Council of State but a Second Chamber well-composed on the basis of democracy.”
Dr. Asah Asante, speaking on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", noted that having the Second Chamber will better benefit the nation.
He explained that there are many astute and experienced veterans who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of profession and would like to render a voluntary service to the nation but don't want to be involved in politics, hence instituting the Second Chamber will ensure these persons are given the opportunity to offer their expertise in service to the nation.
"There are some people who don't want to be involved in politics but want to serve their country. This is the place you send them and when they go there, it's their last national service . . . the Second Chamber is very important. For me, we should heed the call by President Kufuor and if we do that, it will help us," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.
He also argued that, "when you take the Council of State, their duty is to advise. They are an advisory body and after they have offered their advice, the President can decide to take it or not. In politics, although we need advisors, the President has a lot of advisors. I refer to government officials, public servants, bureacrats and so forth; if he says he wants advice, he will have more than enough. Therefore, if there is another group whose work is to advise, I think the time has come for us to review it".
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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