Consider benefits for political, high office holders’

page 16
June 18, 2009

PARLIAMENT must consider issues bordering on emoluments and retirement benefits for political and high office holders in its intended review of the 1992 Constitution.
It has further been urged to consider other provisions including political transitions, the limitation of the legislative authority of Parliament, the conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections and others relating to the composition, membership and conditions of service for Commissioners of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, a Principal lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and Mr Alban K. S. Bagbin, the Majority Leader of Parliament, made the recommendation on Tuesday at the second inaugural lecture to mark the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra,
They spoke on the theme, “Confronting the Challenges of the 1992 Constitution”.
Mr Ahwoi said Article 71 of the Constitution which provided a formula for the determination of salaries, allowances, facilities, privileges, retiring benefits or awards for public office holders, including the President and Vice President, needed to be amended by Parliament if judicial interpretation could not adequately address the challenges associated with it.
He was against the practice where the President appointed a committee to make recommendations for the benefit of the executive and public office holders in line with Article 71 of the Constitution.
He said “should the practice continue, a time will come when there will be a number of ex-Presidents and sets of ex-Parliamentarians all buying from the same market and yet enjoying different retirement benefits or end-of-service benefits”.
He said it was his submission that in interpreting Article 71, a distinction should be drawn between “salaries and allowances” and “retiring benefits and awards”.
Mr Ahwoi said whilst “salaries and allowances” may be determined by each new President, “the retiring benefits and awards should be fixed at all time, with an adjustment formula for inflation and other significant indicators.
For ex-Ministers and ex-Members of Parliament who may be entitled to one-time-end-of-service benefits or ex-gratia payments only, he said the solution may be to fix the quantum in convertible currency such as the US dollar or by way of formula with an in-built inflation factor.
On provisions concerning political transition, he said the experiences of the political transitions of 2001 and 2009 “should teach us that there are vast lacunae in our constitutional arrangements”, which ought to be filled by either constitutional amendment or the exercise of the residual power of Parliament conferred by Article 298.
He therefore agreed with proposals contained in the Institute of Economic Affairs draft “Presidential Transition Bill 2009”.
According to him, the draft bill, proposed among other measures the establishment of an institution that would be responsible for inventory and stock taking of state assets and properties to ensure a smooth and civic handing over of such assets from an outgoing to an incoming administration.
“That is intended to act as a buffer to avoid any dispute between the two parties over all such assets”, he added, and pointed out that the core of the problem related to the short period between Presidential and Parliamentary elections and the date of the inauguration of the new President and Parliament.
To deal with this problem, he said the provision on the period of Parliamentary elections could be amended to allow for a longer period between the Parliamentary elections and the inauguration date of January 7.
Other key areas of the 1992 Constitution he addressed included the concept and practice of the ‘hybrid’ Executive system of government, Decentralisation and Local Government, and the Media and the Right to Rejoinder.
Mr Bagbin, who partly focused his address on the limitations of the legislative authority of Parliament (article 108), said the provision deprived the legislature of one of the most effective mode of exercising control over the use of public funds by the Executive.
“By this prohibition, Parliament is prevented from debating matters that involve expenditure from public funds, the raising of taxation or increases in the rate of taxation on its own initiative without a request from the President”, he emphasised and raised other concerns which he said were inconsistent and therefore called for a review to remove the limitation.
On the appointment of Ministers by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as member of Parliament, except that the majority of Minister shall be appointed from Parliament, the Majority Speaker said experience over the past 16 years had shown that Ministers with Parliament seats tended to find it difficult to effectively combine the two portfolios.
“There is therefore the real challenge of divided attention which is naturally not their making”, he stated and pointed out that the situation was likely to continue for as long as Parliamentary privileges and facilities continued to remain very unattractive as compared with ministerial portfolio.
As a solution, he suggested that the hybrid executive system should be reverted to the Presidential system with complete separation of Parliament from the Executive.
Mr Bagbin also suggested that the condition of service of the Commissioner of CHRAJ, should provide for progression from the status of a justice of the Court of Appeal to a justice of the Supreme Court whilst that of the Deputy Commissioner should be allowed for progression from justice of the High Court to a justice of the Court of Appeal.
He said article 218(e) which prevented the Commission from initiating its own investigation into a matter within its jurisdiction had the effect of dampening the Commission’s initiative to investigate perceived acts of corruption, including the promotion of human rights values, integrity and the rule of law.
To that effect, he urged Parliament to amend article 218 to enable CHRAJ to perform its watchdog role as an independent governance institution.