The Nyimfahen of the Mfantseman Council in Ashanti, Nana Nanabanyin Ninsin-Imbeah II, has joined the debate as to whether the President has the power to dismiss Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) without the backing of the assembly members, arguing that the President can be challenged. "The issue is viable and since there is no law backing it, it must be referred to the Constitutional Review Committee for serious consideration," he said, insisting that until that is done, one has the right to challenge the prerogative of the President in the matter. He made this submission when he visited the Times office here to react to the reply from the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah,to a former MCE for Bolgatanga, Rockson Ayine Bukari, who challenged the powers of the President to dismiss the MMDCEs without the approval of the assemblies. He asked: "If an assembly passes a vote of no confidence in an MMDCE, and the President considers it and removes such an official, is it wrong if the President informs the assembly members who voted to give the official the "prior approval" to be the Chief Executive." The chief said the former MCE committed no crime in raising the concern and for the Deputy Minister to react in such harsh manner would not do the country any good. "For Mr Ankrah to condemn this is a complete attempt to stab and kill democracy in the country," he stressed Mr Ankrah, in the Times of January 11, said no individual can challenge the President's power to dismiss MMDCEs, and pointed out that the President was mandated to revoke the appointment of public officials at any given time without consulting anyone or assigning reasons. He described the former MCE's argument as "bogus, boisterous, porous, without merit and not plausible for anyone to challenge the President". Mr. Bukari, had suggested that the power to appoint a Chief Executive rested in the dual authority of the assembly and the President, and that in the event that the President was not happy with an MMDCE's performance, the process must be followed with the President informing the assembly of the reason for the dismissal. Nana Ninsin-Imbeah, a former secretary of the Kumasi Central Workers CDRs and co-ordinator of the defunct Alliance for Change in Kumasi, said it was a brilliant suggestion that should be referred to the Constitutional Review Committee and not for Mr Ankrah to attack and describe the concern raised by the former MCE as "bogus, boisterous, and porous, and without merit and that no one can challenge the President." In another view a Constitutional Lawyer, Mr. Ernest Kofi Abotsi, says the President has the power to hire and fire Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives without anyone's approval. He said the President was not mandated by any law under the Constitution to seek the approval of district assemblies to dismiss DCEs. Mr. Abotsi said though the process of appointing DCEs mandated the President under the Constitution to refer it to the assemblies, their dismissal was not conditioned on any prior ratification by any constitutional body or agent. "The President has not erred in revoking the appointment of DCEs without consulting the assemblies. In fact, he can hire and fire them at will," he stressed. Mr. Abotsi said this when the Times contacted him to react to the paper's front page story last Monday, attributed to a former Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga, in which he challenged the power of the President to dismiss DCEs without approval of the assemblies. He said Article 58 of the constitution reposed an executive power in the President as a unitary figure and not in the President and his appointees. "Therefore, all holders of executive power appointed by the President are mere agents of the President who can be sacked at will," he stated. Mr. Abotsi explained that the institution had mandated the President to appoint these persons to facilitate the performance of his executive function. He quoted clause (3) of Article 58 which states that "Subject to the provisions of this constitution, the functions conferred on the President by clause (1) of this article may be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him. Mr. Abotsi said technically, the President could assume the position of a Minister of State, Regional Minister and DCE. He said the removal of DCEs was, therefore, not conditioned on the prior approval of district assemblies. The Times reported that Mr. Bukari who was relieved of his post after President Kufuor had won a second term of office in 2004, told an FM station in Bolgatanga that "The President must not remove DCEs without the approval of the assemblies." Mr. Ace Ankomah, a private legal practitioner, also said the President does not need anybody's permission to remove a District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executive from office. He explained that "although under Article 243 (1) it is the President who nominates MMDCEs for approval by two-thirds of the assembly, in actual sense, it is the President who does the appointment." Mr. Ankomah said "it is the fundamental principle in the interpretation of justice that the one who does the appointment also has the power of removal. "With the appointment, the two (the President and the assembly) must act together but when it comes to removal, they act independently of each other," he said. Mr. Ankomah said under Article 243 (3), the assembly itself has been given power to remove its Chief Executive by passing a 'vote of no confidence' by two-thirds of the assembly without recourse to the President. In the same manner, he said, the President has the right to remove MDCEs without recourse to the assembly or alternatively, the chief executive could resign. Source: Ghanaian Times/Ghana