Friday February 26, 2010By Edmund Mingle
The President, John Evans Atta Mills, yesterday revisited the controversial issue of the Representation of the People Amendment Act (ROPAA), saying the amended Act, which was passed under the previous government to allow Ghanaians abroad to vote, will be entirely revised.
In his second State of the Nation Address to Parliament, President Mills said his administration’s objection to the ROPAA, then in opposition, was based on the flawed processes for its introduction, and not on the principle of Diaspora voting.
“Our commitment to providing opportunity for our brothers and sisters abroad to exercise their franchise was never in doubt,” he stated.
To ensure an effective review of the Act, he said the government would this year, constitute a multi-partisan group, under the guidance of the Electoral Commission, to revisit the whole issue of registration and voting of Ghanaians abroad.
“This will involve a review of the Representation of People Law of 1992 in its entirely and not piecemeal amendment of that legislation,” he said.
According to the President, whose address was dubbed “Partners in vision,” said the matter affects the basic power-conferring law of the country, and that it must not be the prerogative of the ruling government to use its majority to have its way.
“All political parties must be involved to enable us reach consensus on a Bill to replace the Representation of the People and its amendments.
“When I am convinced that there is real consensus on its provisions, the Draft Bill will be presented to Parliament,” he said.
President Mills, who called for more inter-party collaboration in pursuit of national reconciliation, said “we cannot impose reconciliation by legislation. Genuine reconciliation must come from our hearts.”
He lauded the collaborative work among the parties on the Ghana Political Parties Programme under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs, which has resulted in the development of the Presidential Transition Bill aimed at effectively managing future political transitions to avoid acrimonious transfer of political power, and urged the parties to continue to work together to achieve the common goal of national progress.
Because of the multi-partisan nature associated with the development of the Bill, he was optimistic that Parliament would have no difficulty in passing it.
Touching on another critical issue of honours given to leaders of the land, he said the National Honours Class of the Order of the Star and Eagles of Ghana awardable only to presidents of Ghana “is discriminatory and inappropriate.”
“I have therefore decided that the National Honours Instrument of 2008, which created that Class, should be repealed.
“A repealing Executive Instrument will be laid before the House in the course of the year to restore the original non-discriminatory Honours Warrant of July 1, 1960 executed by the first President of the Republic, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,” he said.
He was of the view, however, that those persons who received those honours under the 2008 Instrument, which generated a lot of controversy because of the unclear nature of criteria for the nominations, acquired vested or accrued right to them.
“They will therefore be allowed to keep those honours,” he said.
In helping to facilitate the work of MPs, he said a fund would be created to provide facilities such as offices in the offices for MPs in their various constituencies, to enable them to effectively play their role in the governance system.
He called for responsible citizenship, and hoped that the current atmosphere of unfettered free speech would be enjoyed responsibly.
The government, he said, was open to criticisms, saying “nobody has a monopoly of either vision or wisdom, and we will take honest criticisms in good faith.”
“We will work together to fashion out the appropriate policies that will help our nation face and overcome her many challenges in these times of great uncertainty,” he said.
Touching on the efforts at improving the culture of indiscipline in Ghana, President Mills charged Members of Parliament, Ministers and government officials to lead the crusade against indiscipline.
He said there was a need for them to be time conscious and put up good self-discipline and attitude for emulation by the public, saying for instance that he expected all Ministers and officials to be punctual to functions to which they are invited.
He asked organisers of such functions to draw the attention of the Presidency to the attitude of official who become “notorious later comers,”, and also urged the organisers to adopt proper time management practices by making their events less time consuming.
With regard to the addressing the rampant road accidents, President Mills charged the Police Service to urgently come up with a blue-print for tackling the menace.
END
The President, John Evans Atta Mills, yesterday revisited the controversial issue of the Representation of the People Amendment Act (ROPAA), saying the amended Act, which was passed under the previous government to allow Ghanaians abroad to vote, will be entirely revised.
In his second State of the Nation Address to Parliament, President Mills said his administration’s objection to the ROPAA, then in opposition, was based on the flawed processes for its introduction, and not on the principle of Diaspora voting.
“Our commitment to providing opportunity for our brothers and sisters abroad to exercise their franchise was never in doubt,” he stated.
To ensure an effective review of the Act, he said the government would this year, constitute a multi-partisan group, under the guidance of the Electoral Commission, to revisit the whole issue of registration and voting of Ghanaians abroad.
“This will involve a review of the Representation of People Law of 1992 in its entirely and not piecemeal amendment of that legislation,” he said.
According to the President, whose address was dubbed “Partners in vision,” said the matter affects the basic power-conferring law of the country, and that it must not be the prerogative of the ruling government to use its majority to have its way.
“All political parties must be involved to enable us reach consensus on a Bill to replace the Representation of the People and its amendments.
“When I am convinced that there is real consensus on its provisions, the Draft Bill will be presented to Parliament,” he said.
President Mills, who called for more inter-party collaboration in pursuit of national reconciliation, said “we cannot impose reconciliation by legislation. Genuine reconciliation must come from our hearts.”
He lauded the collaborative work among the parties on the Ghana Political Parties Programme under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs, which has resulted in the development of the Presidential Transition Bill aimed at effectively managing future political transitions to avoid acrimonious transfer of political power, and urged the parties to continue to work together to achieve the common goal of national progress.
Because of the multi-partisan nature associated with the development of the Bill, he was optimistic that Parliament would have no difficulty in passing it.
Touching on another critical issue of honours given to leaders of the land, he said the National Honours Class of the Order of the Star and Eagles of Ghana awardable only to presidents of Ghana “is discriminatory and inappropriate.”
“I have therefore decided that the National Honours Instrument of 2008, which created that Class, should be repealed.
“A repealing Executive Instrument will be laid before the House in the course of the year to restore the original non-discriminatory Honours Warrant of July 1, 1960 executed by the first President of the Republic, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,” he said.
He was of the view, however, that those persons who received those honours under the 2008 Instrument, which generated a lot of controversy because of the unclear nature of criteria for the nominations, acquired vested or accrued right to them.
“They will therefore be allowed to keep those honours,” he said.
In helping to facilitate the work of MPs, he said a fund would be created to provide facilities such as offices in the offices for MPs in their various constituencies, to enable them to effectively play their role in the governance system.
He called for responsible citizenship, and hoped that the current atmosphere of unfettered free speech would be enjoyed responsibly.
The government, he said, was open to criticisms, saying “nobody has a monopoly of either vision or wisdom, and we will take honest criticisms in good faith.”
“We will work together to fashion out the appropriate policies that will help our nation face and overcome her many challenges in these times of great uncertainty,” he said.
Touching on the efforts at improving the culture of indiscipline in Ghana, President Mills charged Members of Parliament, Ministers and government officials to lead the crusade against indiscipline.
He said there was a need for them to be time conscious and put up good self-discipline and attitude for emulation by the public, saying for instance that he expected all Ministers and officials to be punctual to functions to which they are invited.
He asked organisers of such functions to draw the attention of the Presidency to the attitude of official who become “notorious later comers,”, and also urged the organisers to adopt proper time management practices by making their events less time consuming.
With regard to the addressing the rampant road accidents, President Mills charged the Police Service to urgently come up with a blue-print for tackling the menace.
END
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