Haruna cautions Prez. Akufo Addo …Over Council of State Members

Leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has cautioned the Executive, particularly President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to exercise caution with certain announcements put into the public domain before formally informing Parliament.

The Minority Leader issued the caution over appointments of Members of the Council of State, which according to him, should have been officially corresponded to Parliament before being published in the media.

Member for Tamale South, in his caution pointed to Article 89 (2) (a) of the Constitution, which states that the President shall appoint Members of Council of the State with the consultation of Parliament of Ghana.

He expressed surprise that there was no such consultation and neither did the House receive any formal correspondence.

Members, he said, only heard on radio and also read on social media about the appointments.

“We want to caution the President that Parliament must be the forum, and indeed the first forum where these formal announcements are made, particularly so, with regards to Article 89(2), which states clearly that they shall be appointed by the President in consultation with Parliament,” he said.

The Minority Leader noted that it is a shared responsibility, and does not vest only in the President the power to appoint, but he must do so in consultation with Parliament.

No formal letter or communication from the President, he said, has been received and yet there was an announcement in the air, and for that matter they cannot follow those announcement in the air.

According to him, what the President did contravenes the 1992 Constitution, and therefore should not be repeated.

“So the President’s handlers must be alerted that Article 89 is a shared responsibility between the President as the Executive President and Parliament as a House.”

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By: Sammy Agyei/www.frontpageghana.com/Ghana