The Member Of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei is advocating for absolute separation of powers among the various arms of government.
In an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV, Dr. Akoto Osei, who is also the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation said years in government have exposed him to how tough it is, serving under two or more arms of government.
“Parliamentary work is interesting. So combining the two is very difficult. I do not know any Minister/MP who can say that he’s giving both sides his 100%, you can’t. If you don’t build the constituency, they will not vote for you, in the meantime, if you underperform as a Minister, the President will sack or reshuffle you. So it is tough. I am now a firm believer in separation.”
“In fact, if I were President tomorrow, I would change the constitution to allow for strict separation.
I think it is important to give your 100% to all,” he indicated.
Dr. Akoto Osei further made his points for the implementation of strict separation.
“If you are an executive who is promoting a bill, you ought to be in Parliament to explain it. But you can’t if you work under both arms. So you’ll have to send your deputy. Meanwhile, your deputy may not fully understand the bill since he is not a cabinet minister. So he may not be able to get the best legislation. It’s tough.”
“In a case where a minister doubles as an MP, his parliamentary role suffers more,” he indicated.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo who has been in Parliament since 2016 is not going to contest this year’s election.
He explained that his decision not to contest in the New Patriotic Party primaries was to pave way for entirely new entrants.
“I believe that after a certain period of time, you need to give room for younger ones to succeed you. Whilst you are there, you do the best you can and train people to succeed. I ask myself how much additional value I’m I getting from Parliament, is there a new thing I am getting? Though I could add more, there are others one could equally do the work. In fact, you should not think you’re irreplaceable.”
He further revealed that he reconsidered relinquishing his seat four years ago, but he felt he “had to at least serve as an MP for some time under Akufo-Addo’s administration.”
He however said he will maintain his Ministerial role should President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo call upon him in his second term.
