Council of State still relevant - Former member

Council of State members deserve benefits they get, Former member

Advisory role of the Council of State not binding, Dr Oduro Osae

Council of State needs drastic overhaul, Martin Kpebu

A former member of the Council of State, Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani says members of the presidential advisory body make huge contributions to the development of the country and deserve to be rewarded for

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Contrary to those who have argued that it has lost its relevance, Dr Dzani is of the view that the Council of State is still as important today as it was in the past.

Speaking on Citi TV’s ‘The Big Issue’, Dr Dzani voiced his disagreement with those calling for it to be scrapped adding that members must continue to be paid ex-gratia after their term of service.

“I do not think that the argument that members don’t deserve ex-gratia is fair. Council of State members really do a lot of work for this country, and I think that we should appreciate them and stop the kind of criticisms and some insults being rained on members. I don’t think it’s fair. Council of State is really important, and the salaries are well-deserved.”

Dr Dzani’s view is contrary to that of the likes of Martin Kpebu and Dr Eric Oduro Osae who have made a case for the Council of State to be scrapped.

According to a report by citinewsroom.com, Governance and Public Financial Management Analyst, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae has said the advisory role of the Council is not binding, hence there is no need keeping it.

“It is about time we reconsidered the functions of the Council of State in our governance structure. If we sincerely believe that we cannot allow the council of state to advise Parliament, the judiciary and the executive and the decision to be binding on them, we should scrap it,” he suggested.

Dr. Oduro Osae believes that to make the country’s governance system more useful, the advisory body must be either scrapped or reviewed.

“There is no point having a Council of State that will advise, and the decision is not binding. So far as we are not allowing the Council of State to advise all arms of state, we should scrap it because we have other institutions. If we are reviewing or revising their role in our governance architecture, then we should tone down on the political appointees that are appointed to the Council of State.”

On his part, private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, believes the Council of State has become redundant and needs to be restructured.

He is of the view that political infiltration has affected the Council’s credibility.

Speaking on JoyNews’ ‘Newsfile’, Mr Kpebu said “This Council of State needs a drastic overhaul because from the way they operate, we are not able to get that kind of credible, independent advice that we wish in a democracy such as ours. To start with, the President appoints 11 of the members; so, he has 11 in his pocket. In a situation where the President alone controls 11 members, then we are in trouble.

“This Council of State, generally, they are not that robust and it’s because of the composition – how they get in there. The Council of State, the institution as created by the Constitution, doesn’t live up to the billing. We’re expecting a robust Council that counsels the President.”

A decision by Togbe Afede to return over GH¢300,000 paid as ex-gratia into his account earlier this week has resulted in the debate on the relevance of the presidential advisory body.