Asuma Banda�s Call Gets Endorsement Group

The call by elder statesman and entrepreneur, Alhaji Dr Asuma Banda, for Ghana to do away with the presidential system currently in practice and revert to the Westminster Parliamentary model is gradually gaining mass appeal. Aside the Minority leader of Parliament, Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu who recently resurrected the Antrak Chairman�s long-held view; a group calling itself �Safe Democracy� has also joined the crusade for Ghana to adopt the democratic parliamentary model of government. In a letter to The aL-hAJJ following Alhaji Banda�s call which was published in the Thursday, May 29, 2014 edition of the paper, the group, while advancing cogent reasons in support of the Westminster model, argued that it is the best way to ensure accountability in governance. Read below the letter by Safe Democracy Dear Sir, We are happy to write to you. We are a constitutional reformation platform for promulgating, assimilating and consolidating culture and democracy in contemporary Ghana (NGO). Our aspirations run through amalgamating culture and democracy in the Ghanaian body politics to reduce the political tension that has characterized the Ghanaian political environment. Our contentions are that, since becoming a republic in 1960, we have not utilized the primordial methodology that established sturdy constitutions of the world which has survived time and hurdle, the Polybius theory. Polybius theory is the incorporation of the top notch of nobles, the bourgeoisie or the commoners and the kings in the making of government where one superintends the other for smooth governing of the states. After 20years in our democratic rule, corruption has become rife in our midst and it is not abating, institutions are weak and dysfunctional while parliament has been made subservient to the executive and few Ghanaians have little confidence in our judiciary and electoral systems. The other dangers we have observed are the perceived electoral malpractices that might result in the crumbling of our political systems and it needed to be fixed to avoid physical, psychological and structural violence come any general election and here we advocate Electoral College system which already is applicable to the national house of chiefs becoming the ceremonial president whiles members of parliament in the majority shall have the chief executive officer elected. Here the nation avoids direct election of the principal political actors in Ghana. The people of Ghana are also being pushed into dividing and tagging themselves into the NDCs and the NPPs with ethnocentric remarks, a driving force that broke states into hamlets and caused the first and the second world wars. Rwanda, Darfur, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Kenya, Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Mali are only a few examples to mention. The threat is compelling enough to prompt the invitation of the custodians of the land that makes Ghana, representations from expert organizations and some independent constitutional bodies into a consortium to be raised and made the House of Lords or senate to mediate the fulcrum of governance in our democratic Ghana. The council of states of today shall be replaced with the second chamber parliament. The second chamber parliament shall be responsible, among other things, the national development commission. Political parties and their members of parliament shall craft their manifestos and development plans from the master plan of the national development commission. To serve the interest of their constituents and their political parties� best, elected honorable members of parliaments shall generate bills to be considered for deliberations and possible passage by both legislatures. Both houses would then deliberate the bills separately and vote accordingly for its passage. Approval of the bill by the second chamber shall have the ceremonial president give his assent and attest to it to become law. Ghana�s democracy will then have a feel of the CHECK AND BALANCES scheme, the bedrock systems democracies have applied to win the gains of constitutionality, liberty, positive progress and stability in governance. Here we also would achieve national cohesion and multiparty governance structure which we have long yearned for. Political parties devoid of tribalism, ethnicity and regionalism shall continue to strive and contest general elections on the bases of ideologies for which they were established. Prospective members of parliament throughout Ghana, through a popular vote system shall contest elections on the ticket of their respective political parties in their constituencies to win a seat in the lower parliament to serve for a period of term. The majority leader in parliament therefore assumes the contractual obligation of chief executive officer of the country; the prime minister. Coalitions are formed when the quorum required to form the government falls below the required percentage. The prime minister and his team shall serve in the name of the ceremonial president who is naturally the head of the custodians of the land that makes Ghana. Under this system, political parties would be duty-bound to work assiduously to deliver on their promises of their core campaign messages for which reason they were elected. Since political parties would be built on ideologies and philosophies, they would then be coerced to practice same and use the philosophical methodologies of their respective political ideologies they are known with to work out their manifestos drawn from the national development commission�s master plan for the general benefit of Ghanaians. NATIONAL SERVICE All Ghanaian youth between the ages of 18-26 shall serve a compulsory national service under the supervision and guidance of the Ghana armed forces for a period of term depending on one�s educational qualification experience. Young people leaving school in their years, either graduating or dropping out, create societal disadvantages. Military service instills in recruit an understanding of responsibility and sacrifice from working for a greater cause in unison with fellow citizens. The result is a greater sense of national unity and integration between races and economic classes. The military has always provided a valuable place for those with less resource at their disposal to gain important skills. Those with a military background are more competitive in the career pool and carry with them skills that can be applied to fields outside the military. Citizens of Ghana would benefit from nationalism imbued in their youth at the center of serving mother Ghana, while at the same time, acquiring more knowledge in their professional training which they had carry up to the national service center. Nations across the globe continue to practice compulsory national service under the guidance of the armed forces and earned tremendous economic growth to the state. More especially a developing country like Ghana would have a higher boost in her economy than she had ever experience. To initiate this, referendum is necessary and no matter what the financial cost it entails, it would be prudent than to allow failed democratic governance in our homeland Ghana. We would be most happy in an effort to establish a constitution devoid of rumpus and ambiguity meet with you to discuss steps towards achieving this meaningful overture. Sincerely yours, Munir Saani Executive Secretary Safe Democracy