A survey of MPs’ opinions about the challenges of blending executive and legislative functions of government under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution

Abstract

Since the inauguration of the fourth republican constitution in 1993, concerns have been raised about
the effect of article 78 (1) on executive-legislature relations, the legislature’s oversight role and the
workings of the legislature and the performance of legislators. The aim of this study was to examine
legislators’ perceptions about the impact and implications of article 78 (1) on the work of legislators and
the legislature, data for the study was collected in 2008 through semi- structured interviews conducted
with twenty purposively selected minority and majority legislators of the fourth parliament under the
fourth republic. The findings revealed that article 78.1 affects the work of legislators significantly. MPs
reported that, the practice of appointing majority of executive ministers from the legislature has
resulted in a reduction of time and energy legislators’ devote to parliamentary work. Also, legislator
ministers are either late or absent to the house as well as special parliamentary committee meetings.
Majority of MPs reported that article 78.1 has not only rendered legislative oversight ineffectual, it has
also made the legislature vulnerable to executive control and manipulation in several ways. MPs
identified: (i) the absence of office space (ii) inadequate secretarial services and related ICT support
services (iii) undue pressure from constituents for projects (iv) lack of logistical resources (v) weak
technical support from parliamentary service workforce and (vi) the absence of competent research
staffers as some of challenges of been a legislator in Ghana. The conclusions which emerged from the
study are that, article 78(1) has not only subverted the powers and autonomy of the Ghanaian
legislature, it has rendered its control over executive arbitrariness and excesses ineffectual. It has also
rendered the principle of separation of powers useless and impracticable, plunging Ghana’s
parliamentary development and democratic governance into a quagmire. Given the diversity of opinions
on the matter, MPs suggested that Ghanaians would have to remain open to all shades of policy and
reform proposals and critically examine all available options before proceeding with any amendment of
the 1992 constitution. Further empirical studies would have to be conducted into the effects of the
article and many other provisos on the legislature and Ghana’s democratic advancement in general.