Minority Leader expresses support for the appointment of Majority Leader as Minister

Minority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu says an appointment of the majority leader in Parliament as a Minister of State is expedient so as to have him lay documents on behalf of government in the House.

He told Citi FM that “If we had an executive president compartmentalized strictly from the legislature, the majority leader wouldn’t have to be a minister but given this hybrid arrangement, it is important that we have the majority leader a ministerial designation…..the arrangement as per our orders is that if you are not a minister, you cannot lay documents in the house on behalf of government."

He was speaking on the issue of whether the majority leader should be appointed a Minister of State or not.

Former majority leader and Member of Parliament for Zebilla, Cletus Avoka reacting to the issue agreed to the minority leader’s assertion, adding that if the majority leader is given a Ministerial appointment, it would facilitate government business on the floor of Parliament.

He explained that “As far as the constitution of Ghana is concerned, it is only ministers of state that can conduct government business on the floor of the house so in that vein; I think it will be prudent and useful that the majority leader be made a minister of state to satisfy the constitutional provisions so that he can lay documents on behalf of the president and other ministers."

He continued: “Experience has shown that when the majority leader is not a minister of state, there are some documents that he cannot lay on behalf of the president and he is supposed to be in charge of government business.

"How can he be in charge of government business when he cannot even lay a common paper on behalf of the government he represents so I think the minority leader is right and I support the contention."

He outlined some challenges he faced as a majority leader in the fifth Parliament.

“I had a lot of challenges. Sometimes there would be no minister on the floor and therefore have to defer the name of that particular document but if a majority leader who is often in the house is made a minister of state, he may have the opportunity to do so and government work will go on uninterrupted,” he said.

Some critics have said the majority leader doubling as a Minister of State would interfere with the legislature, hence undermining the independence of the house but Mr. Avoka does not agree because “the constitution provides that majority of the ministers of state must come from parliament so if an MP is also a minister of state, how does that affect the integrity or the cause of the separation of powers.

"Even though the majority leader is not a minister, he attends cabinet meetings and is supposed to work in harmony with the ministers of state and represent government in parliament." he further said.

He emphasized that “the most important thing is integrity; how you will be able to execute your duty in the legislature without compromising with the executive.”

From: Adu Gyamfi Ameyaw