Private Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu has called for the repeal of Section 1 of Article 78 of the 1992 Constitution.
The provision requires the President of Ghana to appoint majority of his ministers from among parliamentarians.
Kpebu made the call while backing the demand for a constitutional review, explaining that the “constitution needs a lot of heavy substantial amendments.”
According to him, members of parliament who double as ministers of state use their positions to acquire funds from private institutions that they award contracts to.
He alleged that ministers receive 10% or more shares of the money paid to contractors by the state when they so arrange the contracts.
This he said, is fuelling the desire of MPs of the ruling government to be appointed as ministers of state so that they can amass wealth.
He said, “I hear nowadays it is becoming very clear that they don’t like deputy ministerial appointments because a deputy minister does not have much of a voice, doesn’t get much., right, so everybody wants to be a minister because that is where when you award contracts you will get 10% or more.”
“The members of parliament go to parliament in the hope of being appointed ministers of state because that is where they will make money. So, this is the one we want to amend so that an MP cannot be a minister.”
He added that the members of parliament again should not be appointed members of the governing boards of any of the state institutions or organisations.
According to him, members of the board act as middlemen for private institutions who apply for contracts from state institutions.
“And number two, a very huge part- an MP cannot be a board member of the state-owned enterprises and institutions. Some of the MP’s when they [make] them chairman of let’s say National Petroleum Authority, just [as] board member alone, they become lobbyists for these institutions and that’s how they make money.”
Martin Kpebu therefore called for a repeal of this law, among others, if the constitution is reviewed.
