The Council of State plays a crucial role

The Council of State plays a crucial role

Last Friday, 14 people were elected to represent 14 regions on the Council of State. Two regions – Bono East and West – were unable to conclude the election of their representatives. There is an injunction on the election of Bono, while the election in the West region ended in a tie, the second round having taken place yesterday.

When the two regions are sorted, we would have the full complement of members of the Council of State, consisting of the 16 regional representatives, 11 members appointed by the president and four other people who had previously served as chief justice, chief of the Defense Staff, Inspector General of Police and President of the National Chamber of Chiefs.

The election of regional representatives to the council produced an interesting result – Mr. Enoch Teye (ET) Mensah, former sports minister, statesman and pillar of the Democratic National Congress (NDC), was elected by 100% of the voices for represent the Greater Accra region.

His election largely contributes to underline the apolitical character of the Council of State, as envisaged by the draftsmen of the Constitution of 1992.

Here again, the backgrounds of the members of the State Council – business, academia, law, politics, security and leadership – show that the president will have a wide range of expertise to draw upon for advice.

The Council of State is a body which advises the President to enable him to carry out his functions effectively. The drafters of the 1992 constitution wanted some semblance of an elders council that advises a chief in the traditional political system.

Its crucial role cannot therefore be underestimated. The importance of the Council of State is seen in the Constitution of 1992, with an entire chapter (Chapter 9) devoted to it. The Council of State advises the President on the making of certain crucial appointments, such as the presidents and deputies of the Electoral Commission (EC), the Auditor General, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the administrator of the Common Fund district assemblies, boards of directors of public enterprises and many others.

Article 90 of the 1992 Constitution also grants the Council of State the power to examine bills signed by Parliament that the President seeks to amend before sanctioning them. In addition, section 91 gives the council the power to initiate or make recommendations on any matter considered by the president or a minister of state.

The Daily Graphic congratulates the newly elected and appointed members of the Council of State and reminds them that their mandate is at the heart of the governance of the country. The duty to advise the chief executive of the country is a sacred duty which must be fulfilled with a sense of patriotism.

We urge board members to come up with ideas that will allow the president to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and lead the country on a path of growth and sustainability.

Members should also not see their positions as a rise in power but rather as a call to serve the good people of this country. They must not simply become a part of the bureaucratic structure of governance, but must work hard to remove obstacles to good governance and also issues that are at odds with our democratic ideals.

The Daily Graphic calls on the newly constituted Council of State to be diligent in its work and to ensure that it does not become a buffer for government decisions, but rather an entity that will guide the President to make the right choices for the well of the countryside.

The members of the board are personalities who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields; we therefore ask them to continue to use their expertise and vast knowledge to help Ghana.