President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged the newly sworn in Council of State to choose to be a respected advisory body to his office rather than a lickspittle.
“You can, if you so choose, quickly get into the ‘honourable and excellency mode’, and you’ll find many people to play you up to that role; you can if you so choose, make your council one that is a rubberstamp; you can, if you so choose, make this council one that is widely respected and seen as the place to go for advice by all institutions and I’m hoping this council will choose the latter path,” the president said after swearing in the 24-member council at State House on Monday.
Between the council and the presidency, the president added, “we have a lot of work to do to get all the appointments in place to get the government machinery to work. I hope that we shall not insist on standing on ceremony but get to work rapidly and efficiently”.
Nana Akufo-Addo said his office, as required by the constitution, would seek the advice of the council over his government’s promise to create four new regions.
This, the president said, is “an important specific function which the constitution has conferred upon the council”.
“The council is to advise the president on the suitability or otherwise of the creation of a new region. The council’s advice is an integral part of the process for creating new regions. This function is certainly going to be exercised during my presidency,” he further stated.
Nana Akufo-Addo said there was a lot of work awaiting the council and, thus, urged them to meet quite often so as to get government machinery running. “Members of the Council, Article 92 (1) of the Constitution requires the council to meet, at least, four times a year. At the moment, I fear there is a lot of work piled up for the council and it might well turn out to be more like four times in a week that the council meets to be able to deal with the work on its table,” the president urged.
He also said the government would refurbish the council’s office to a befitting status. “Members of the council, I’ve been given to understand that the state of the infrastructure for the council is not good, work on the building started under President John Kufuor to house the council has been abandoned and the guest house for use by members who come from out of town has also fallen into disrepair. I hear the vehicles the council uses are in a poor state, and I understand the secretariat has not got a chief director, or a full complement of staff to help it perform its duties. This is an unfortunate state of affairs. I shall do my best to ensure that these matters are rectified promptly and the council is properly equipped to do its work,” concluded Mr Akufo-Addo.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
