There have been several calls to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency following the flood disaster in parts of the Volta Region due to the spillage of the Akosombo Dam.
However, it appears the President is not interested in declaring because of his long silence on the calls. Key persons who have made the calls to the president include Former President John Dramani Mahama.
Mr Mahama said it was clear that the scope and scale of the flooding of communities along the Volta River was bigger than “our crippled economy can bear.”
“I recommend to Government to declare a State of Emergency in the affected areas and request relief assistance from our bilateral and multilateral partners immediately,” he wrote on Facebook.
Former Health Minister Alex Segbefia also asked the president to declare a state of emergency in the areas. In his view, it would cause no disturbances if a state of emergency is declared.
“I don’t think there is any harm to declare a state of emergency,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Wednesday, October 18 after asking the government to prepare ahead of a possible health emergency.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) also backed calls for a state of emergency to be declared. GNAT said the state of emergency would ensure public safety and maintenance of law and order.
GNAT in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 17 said it “equally backs the calls for a state of emergency to be declared in the affected areas, since the circumstances under which a state of emergency could be declared, whether natural or manmade disasters, is being experienced currently which is not only threatening the very existence of the people but also depriving the communities of essentials of life. The declaration of the emergency would secure public safety, maintenance of public order, and generate the supply of essential goods and services required by the communities.”
Likewise, the Assemblies of God Church also called for the declaration of a state of emergency in the affected areas. The Church believed that this would help in dealing with the “depressing ” situation.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Tuesday, October 17, the General Overseer of the Assemblies of God Church, Rev Stephen Wengam said “The Assemblies of God Ghana fully backs calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in the flood-affected areas, this will help the necessary humanitarian measures being undertaken to bring the depressing situation under control.”
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, Dr Ishmael Norman said there are several technicalities involved in the declaration of a state of emergency in Ghana.
To that end, he said, the President is not going to declare a state of emergency, not even a regional state of emergency over the flood disaster that was caused by the spillage of water from the Akosombo Dam.
Dr Norman said “Of course but the President won’t do it. Going by his history, during Covid, he didn’t use the Emergency Powers Act of 1994 Act 471, and Article 31 of the 1992 Constitution.
“The reason why he wouldn’t declare a state of emergency, even a regional state of emergency, is because it entails a lot. You remember that he used Executive Instrument 61 when it started and then 10 (12) of 2020 to declare a health emergency, not even a state of emergency, but a health emergency meaning other considerations were not important even though the Covid situation was a massive disruption to activities everywhere.
“In this situation with spillage and flooding, he is not going to declare a state of emergency, not even a regional state of emergency. He will come out with an Executive Instrument that will allow him to perform without reporting to Parliament because the modalities for the state of emergency are very technical, and our President doesn’t like to be controlled by the laws too much.”
He added “If you declare a state of emergency it allows the government to allocate a lot of resources to confront and tackle the emergency. So, if the government is dedicated to solving this problem then the wisest thing to do will be a declaration of a regional state of emergency because it has not become national yet.
“The spillage and flooding subsequent, have not become overwhelming that the country cannot handle or the region can’t handle it, this is an isolated case. Maybe 9 districts or even 12 affected, but that is still not overwhelming. But in order to declare a regional state of emergency the President will have to go to Parliament, report to the Parliament of what has happened and follow the modalities as listed under Article 31.”
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu also said “I think the President must declare a state of emergency,” he said.
A professor at the University of Ghana Ransford Gyampo for his part indicated “If declaring a state of emergency will not cost us money, rather attract us money, let there be a swift action to declare so that we can benefit from all the interventions to alleviate the plight of the people.”
Who “above” has given orders to the military detachment helping us cross flood waters to immediately withdraw when the water levels haven’t receded and when thousands of lives are at stake in camps across these waters?
Who in government is behind this utter cruelty? pic.twitter.com/yTgKB5u36V
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) October 22, 2023
“If the IMF conditionalities do not forbid us then let us declare it,” he stressed.
Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim North Constituency, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi also said ” I support it, the call is very welcomed and I want to believe that the president is considering this.”
But there is one issue about the declaration of a state of emergency which has been missing from the discussion. That is the role of the Council of State in the process of declaring the state of emergency in Ghana.
This was explained by South Dayi Member of Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor when he said that President Akufo-Addo can only declare a state of emergency upon the advice from the Council of State.
He explained the responsibility is on the Council of State to convene a meeting and assess the situation to advise the president appropriately.
Mr Dafeamekpor stated that if a state of emergency is declared, it will afford the president the power to deploy the army to go to the flood areas in the Volta Region to resolve the situation.
The president, he added, will be questioned by Parliament if he deploys the army when a state of emergency has not been declared, hence the Council of State must act swiftly.
“Under Article 31(1) [of the Constitution] the burden is actually on the Council of State. It is the Council of State that must convene and make that determination. It says the president may act in accordance with the advice of the council. The fire must be set by the Council of State. [The President] can tell them that [he] is in crisis so they should convene and make that determination and send him the resolution. Then, based on the resolution which will be the advice he may act in accordance with it. The benefit of a state of emergency is that the president can deploy thousands of soldiers to go to the grounds and work, he can deploy the 64 engineers to build new roads. If you don’t declare you can’t deploy the army in this matter because Parliament will ask you questions. The state of emergency must be declared because there are benefits to the country when we do that” he said on the Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, October 21.
Now, the question is, what does it take to declare a state of emergency in Ghana?
Article 31 of the Constitution titled Emergency Power says;
(1) The President may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State, by Proclamation published in the Gazette, declare that a state of emergency exists in Ghana or in any part of Ghana for the purposes of the provisions of this Constitution.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, where a proclamation is published under clause (1) of this article, the President shall place immediately before Parliament, the facts and circumstances leading to the declaration of the state of emergency.
(3) Parliament shall, within seventy-two hours after being so notified, decide whether the proclamation should remain in force or should; be revoked; and the President shall act in accordance with the decision of Parliament.
(4) A declaration of a state of emergency shall cease to have effect at the expiration of a period of seven days beginning with the date of publication of the declaration, unless, before the expiration of that period, it is approved by a resolution passed for that purpose, by a majority of all the members of Parliament.
(5) Subject to clause (7) of this article, a declaration of a state of emergency approved by a resolution of Parliament under clause (4) of this article shall continue in force until the expiration of a period of three months beginning with the date of its being so approved or until such earlier date as may be specified in the resolution.
(6) Parliament may, by resolution passed by a majority of all members of Parliament, extend its approval of the declaration for periods of not more than one month at a time.
(7) Parliament may, by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of Parliament, at any time, revoke a declaration of a state of emergency approved by Parliament under this article.
(8) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that the provisions of any enactment, other than an Act of Parliament, dealing with a state of emergency declared under clause (1) of this article shall apply only to that part of Ghana where the emergency exists.
(9) The circumstances under which a state of emergency may be declared under this article include a natural disaster and any situation in which any action is taken or is immediately threatened to be taken by any person or body of persons which—
(a) is calculated or likely to deprive the community of the essentials of life; or
(b) renders necessary the taking of measures which are required for securing the public safety, the defence of Ghana and the maintenance of public order and of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.
(10) Nothing in, or done under the authority of, an Act of Parliament shall be held to be inconsistent with, or in contravention of, articles 12 to 30 of this Constitution to the extent that the Act in question authorizes the taking, during any period when a state of emergency is in force, of measures that are reasonably justifiable for the purposes of dealing with the situation that exists during that period.