Private Legal Practitioner, Esq. Martin Kpebu has indicated that he is in favor of the current power tussle between the Presidency and Parliament, stating that the current impasse between the two arms of government is a test that strengthens Ghana’s democracy.
He argued that the present situation of the government helps to test the limits of the Executive arm of government while insisting that contrary to the view of some Ghanaians on the situation, the current impasse between Parliament and the Presidency is not toxic.
“I am usually not confrontational but from time to time, you need a bit of confrontation because when you have a President that hardly listens to the populace and the elected representatives, you will need things like this to put him [the President] in check”.
Esq. Martin Kpebu
Esq. Martin Kpebu described the situation as “good riddance” as it helped the Ghanaian Parliament to indicate to the President that regardless of the power granted him by the constitution, which is excessive, he (the President) cannot bully Parliament into doing his dictates. “This is really really good so when I see people say it’s toxic, I’m like, arh did they live in Ghana?” he added.
Furthermore, he indicated that unless a person is a loyal NPP compatriot, he or she should be excited at the turn of events considering how the President has been conducting himself, especially his [the President’s] total disregard for Ghanaians and their elected representatives.
He commended the Speaker of Parliament for taking such action to ensure that the President is checked while he opined that the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Hon. Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor should be lauded for taking such a proactive decision to file an injunction suit against Parliament.
Moreover, the lawyer indicated that Article 57 of the 1992 Constitution confers all Executive power on the President, the President also needs the cooperation of other arms of government. “They will tell you that there’s Separation of power but there’s also cooperation and inter-dependence etcetera” he stated.
Cooperation Assured
Esq. Martin Kpebu also specified that the present scrimmage between the Presidency and Parliament will not affect their ability to cooperate in the conduct of the business of government. He opined that conflict is essential to make the President realize that his conduct amounts to an executive overreach.
“So he [the President] needs to reach out to the Speaker then they see what they can do. But to be very clear, let’s just not make it look like it’s just a tit-for-tat, no. I was the first person to say that it’s a tit-for-tat but I made a point that that is on the face of it. When you go deeper, you find that both the President and the Speaker are talking law”.
Esq. Martin Kpebu
He noted that the Supreme Court reiterated that once a case is in court, whether or not an order for an injunction has been granted, the defendant of the suit should stay his or her hand in order not to make the case an ‘open and shut’ one or a “foolish case”. “So in this case the President has my support, 130%, when he says he is not signing the anti-gay bill” he stated.
Furthermore, he advised Parliament to ask for an expeditious trial if it wants to pass the anti-LGBTQ+ bill into law quickly. He emphasized that Parliament should explore other legal options like expedited trials because “we live in a country of laws” which gives Parliament varied options to choose from.
“We know in the past the President hasn’t been right…he’s about the worst performing President in recent time. That notwithstanding, he says this time, he wants to live within the law…let’s give him that because we are building a democracy”.
Esq. Martin Kpebu
He argued that if the minority or some Ghanaians base their argument on the precedence set by the President by assenting to the E-levy bill while it was still in court, it will be likely to say that the governance system of the country should not be improved, which is not progressive for a burgeoning democracy like Ghana’s.
Conclusively, while Parliament and the Presidency remain in a stalemate, it is only practical that both arms of government cooperate to find a middle ground to ensure that the business of government is not brought to a halt for as long as this standstill lasts.
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