Family Vows To Contest Death Of Daughter
THE INSTITUTE for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI)-Ghana, a Tema -based think tank organization has advised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to streamline the number of Council of State members from 25 to 15.
According to the think tank, the membership is too many and is creating financial burden on the public purse.
ILAPI believed that Ghana’s problem has been largely due to inefficient utilization of state resources and serious waste in the system, imploring Nana Akufo-Addo and his majority in Parliament to decrease the council of state members and channel the monies into other ventures.
In a statement released and copied to the DAILY GUIDE, the organization held the view that “We believe that the Council of State, a largely unelected body of 25 persons created by the framers of the 1992 Constitution to advice the President, are too many”.
The group pointed out that the number must be reduced since the country spends about GH?16.4 million on their allowances each time their term of office expire.
“This is a huge financial burden unto the state. Technically, the so-called Council of State serves little or no useful purpose. Allowances of the 25 members of the council of state denote a GH?13,685 per person per month.
“In four years when their term of office expires, they would have earned GH?16,422,000 more than GH?16.4million or $4,105,500 (at the exchange rate $1=GH? 4),” according to the statement signed by Peter Bismark Kwofie, the President of ILAPI–Ghana
“Members of the Council of State are required by the Constitution to meet at least four times a year, so why should they, who have regular jobs, be paid as Article 71 office holders? Won’t paying those allowances for attending meetings be better than paying them like Article 71 office holders as if they work full time? That is corruption and very shameful on their parts for accepting monies they know they have not worked for or earned in any way.”
According to ILAPI, since the deliberations of council of state members is not open to the public unless they decide so coupled with the fact that the President or Parliament may disregard their advice there is no need of constituting such a large number of them to put pressure on the public purse.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema