Dissolving Ghana’s Parliament – In Its Present Form….

I certainly do not know what Kwamina Ahwoi will say on this article I am writing. For Hon. Mr Martin Amidu, maybe the comments might only come after some months. And so for Prof. Kwasi Prempeh himself, I am keen on what his views will be.

Take a look around. What is it, in “Parliament”, that the youth do all what they can, so as to get inside there?

Look at our Friends Asenso Boakye, Okudzeo Ablakwa, Sam George etc, to mention a few. Please join me ask this question one more time: What is it, in “Parliament”, that the youth do all what they can, so as to get inside there? (A Mammy truck of the 1970 -Ashaiman to Accra road had this on it “NOKO YE DZEN” i.e. Something dey there”).

When we workers were asked to leave our workplaces so as to plant Odum/ Mahogany trees by the roadside from Odaw Railway crossing through Kaneshie Circle, it was the call of the REVOLUTION. That was somewhere 1988 or so. I would think that it was that same time the District Assembly was birthed. As far as I can remember, Chairman JJR told us that the District Assembly “Needed to be watered like the Mahogany trees in order to feed the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, perhaps via a REGIONAL ASSEMBLY”. I still very well remember Chairman JJR addressing us after the tree planting, with above words concerning the District Assembly. JJR, damirifa due.

The District Assemblies survived. What then went wrong with the original thought, that these Assemblies being the spring-up point towards a NATIONAL ASSEMBLY?

Ghana is a Member of the ECOWAS PARLIAMENT, but the electorate do not vote here for “ECOWAS MPs”. Ghana is a Member of the Pan-African Parliament. But the electorate do not vote in Ghana for Pan-African MPs. So what am I trying to say here? With Prof. HKP’s constitutional review proposals being worked on, this could be the very best time to evaluate if the Republic of Ghana actually needed what is called PARLIAMENT in its present form. Resistance to my proposal, expect it to be taller than what is needed to push Putin out of Ukraine. John IV became President, from “this Parliament”; having earlier risen to VP. NADAA became President from “this Parliament”. So there is no doubt, that there are several dozens looking up to become President from “this Parliament”. “NOKO YE DZEN”…..That is why my proposal will be fiercely resisted.

Is Ghana’s Parliament in its present form seriously of any value? To me, the answer is no. Do we need Parliament? My answer is YES. So how can we have it then?

Let us go back to JJR’s original intent. At present, we have 276 elected members of Parliament. They are paid. They have dozens of Committees, where the cash may be flowing. They have bodyguards (do they?). They have “Aides”. The National Budget of Ghana for the Parliament is known. Let us abolish it in its present form entirely.

The JJR concept, that which he talked to us Workers that day in May 1988 during the Odum/Mahogany planting, let us enshrine this in our Constitution that is readying for revision. Ghana has 261 District Assemblies, compared to 276 Constituencies. “Constituencies” shall become abolished!! Each of the 261 Assemblies elects one, or two, or three Members to go and serve in NATIONAL PARLIAMENT for example, six (6) months on rotational basis.

In just the same way that our MPs go to the ECOWAS or PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMNET, this is the way for us to go with our ASSEMBLYMEN to go and serve in the NATIONAL PARLIAMENT. I personally see Parliament in its present form as of no real benefit to mother Ghana. Let us nurture the District Assemblies such that Assemblymen get higher societal respect. The Assemblyman will be elected by his Colleagues to go and serve in the National Parliament. He adopts that title “Honourable” Member of Ghana’s Parliament. When his TERM is over, he comes back to the District Assembly, so long as the local folks keep electing him!!

There will be no need for a “Parliamentary Board”. No. The Secretariat remains. CLERK OF PARLIAMENT remains etc.

Let us assume that my own “Ho Municipal” Representative in the National Parliament is currently the one arrested in Holland, the Municipal Assembly simply effects his replacement next day till that case ends.

A gargantuan savings for mother GHANA. Politicking at the local levels gets highly stimulated and becomes elevated without discrimination.

I call on all to seriously evaluate this. GHANA must move on. Get on board!

Dziko-Kwame Akumah