Member of Parliament for Builsa North, James Agalga is sceptical about calls for an amendment to Article 78(1) of the constitution to prevent the president from appointing ministers from Parliament. 

Some Ghanaians have called for the amendment of Article 78(1) of the 1992 constitution which mandates the president to appoint a majority of ministers from Parliament.

The concerned Ghanaians say this provision of the constitution defeats the principle of separation of powers and limits Parliament’s supervisory powers over the executive.

But in an interview with Citi News, the Member of Parliament’s constitutional and legal affairs committee, James Agalga says this must be done with caution.

“If you look at the constitutional resolution of the country, you find that the 1979 constitution made it impossible for the President to nominate Ministers from within Parliament. In that sense the Legislature was strictly separate from the Executive arm of government. Somehow in the 1992 constitution, we thought that the fusion principle was best for us.”

“For now the 1992 constitution allows for a combination of the two while maintaining the presidential system. But then we need to ask ourselves, if that system actually favours us, let us carefully review it,” he added.