Former Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has suggested that Members of Parliament who are given Ministerial Appointments must cease to serve as lawmakers.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, one of the longest serving MPs is advocating for a review of the constitution to mandate MPs who receive ministerial appointments to step down for fresh elections to be held for another representative in Parliament.
In an interview with TV3 on January 16, he noted that the status quo where MPs do serve simultaneously as Ministers is hindering the progress of Ghana’s democracy.
According to him, Ghana is not benefitting enough from democratic system because of some challans in the system such as some MPs being “squared eggs in one bowl.”
“The full benefits of democracy, the democratic dividends are not inuring to us the way that we think we should be making those benefits which is why I go with the prescription that the time has come for us to decouple ministerial appointments from Parliament.
“If the president appoints a member of parliament as a minister and the person accepts it, there should be a vacancy in that regard or fresh elections to be conducted.
“People who go to parliament would want to be career Members of Parliament and if you are career members of Parliament, it would really help us,” he explained.
His comment comes at the time President John Mahama is appointing his Ministers and heads of state agencies to support him in his bid to ‘reset’ Ghana.
Amongst President Mahama’s appointees, some MPs have also been appointed to head agencies like the Finance Ministry, Education Ministry, Roads Ministry and others.
