President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a strong case for the country’s democracy to be deepened to ensure true separation of power among the various arms of government.
Though the country’s constitution gives the executive, legislature and the judiciary independence of each other, there has been some seeming level of interference by the executive over the two other arms of government. Parliament has widely been criticised for failure to exert its full independence and accused of being a rubber stamp of the executive arm of government.
But addressing the nation Saturday shortly after his investiture as Ghana’s new president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said it is time to bring about real separation of powers between the three arms of government.
“We should move on to deepen our democracy. It is time to make sure there is true separation of power between the various arms of government. Our parliament must grow into its proper role as an effective machine for an accountability and oversight of the executive and not be its junior partner,” he said.
He said it was the duty of the 275 members of parliament to seek the interest of the people whose mandate they represent in the House. “The Ghanaian MP must stand up to institutions that represent all that we hold dear so that citizens can take pride in” Nana Akufo-Addo said.
On the judiciary, which was rocked corruption scandal in the late 2015, President Akufo-Addo underscored the need for the courts and their judges inspire confidence in the people and exhibit fairness.
“Our judiciary must inspire confidence in the citizens so we can all see the courts as the ultimate arbiters when disputes arise as they would. A Ghanaian judge must be a reassurance presence and the epitome of fairness,” he advised.
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