The 2008 flagbearer of the Convention People’s Party, Papa Kwesi Nduom has taken a swipe at Members of Parliament (MPs) saying majority of them are only interested in getting ministerial appointments and thus neglecting their core function as lawmakers. According to him, that is the sad reality which is weakening Ghana’s Parliament. Dr Nduom, who himself was a former Member of Parliament and minister of state under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, said his experiences in those positions has convinced him that a clear separation of powers between the executive and the legislature is what Ghana’s democracy needs. Dr Nduom was reacting to reports that a special 25-member parliamentary committee set up to collate views of MPs towards the work of the constitution review commission, amongst others has proposed the retention of the provision requiring that majority of ministers be appointed from parliament. Although the report is yet to be debated on the floor of the House, members are already expressing divergent opinions on the matter. Speaking on the Citi Eyewitness News, on Tuesday March 22, the former Energy Minister noted that it is up to the MPs to understand that law making must be made an honourable career. “I am not surprised because many of the people sitting there went to parliament not with the intention of being legislators or lawmakers or being parliamentarians. Many of them are sitting there because they hope their party will come to power so they will be appointed ministers of state. This is what is making this parliament ineffective and dependent on the executive as it is”. “A Parliament such as this ought to be able to be independent enough to even propose changes to the Constitution so that it can gain more authority and more responsibility. We need to change this constitution and this legislature so that we separate the legislature from the executive. In this case there will be proper checks and balances, so that people will go to the house with the sole purpose of being lawmakers,” he added. A former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a member of the ruling NDC, Ken Dzirasah agrees with the former Energy Minister. He told Citi News that a clear separation of the legislature from the executive carries more benefits and will contribute more to the development of the nation. “There are advantages for both arrangements but in my candid opinion a clear separation carries more benefits for the administration of the nation. In our current arrangements we do not have offices for our constituency work. “Apart from the minister engaging in both his ministry and in parliament, he has to do constituency work. He has to trek outside the country. All these things get him overloaded that he suffers from stress and so many other problems”. Story by Citifmonline.com