After putting together a sound agenda , the National Commission for Civic Education( NCCE) is poised to embark on one of its flagship programs to promote dialogue and good governance in Ghana. To this end the commission has invited Ghanaians from all walks of life to its second dialogue series in Accra on October 21.
Scheduled to be held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center of Excellence in ICT near the State House, the function will be addressed by Mr. Justice VCRAC Crabbe (former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana), Professor Mike Ocquaye (former Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament) and Hon Dr Dominic Ayini (Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice)
According a letter of invitation from the NCCE, in all about 300 persons will be invited and possibly have the program covered live by selected television and radio stations.
The program is opened to the general public including Professional bodies such as the Ghana Bar Association, the Ghana Journalist Association and the Civil Society as well as Political Parties, Faith Based Groups, Traditional Authorities and Development Partners.
A concept note on the program released by the NCCE indicates that the Commission focuses its activities this year on the theme: ?Strengthening our Pillars? by looking at how state institutions function and how they can be strengthened to promote good governance. The process seeks to engage, educate and empower Ghanaians to actively participate in governance in a process dubbed the NCCE Dialogue Series.
The first of the dialogue series took place in June and examined issues beyond the ?August 29, Supreme Court Ruling?. It brought Resource persons from diverse backgrounds to critically examine the pertinent issues raised during the ruling on the 2012 Election Petition and considered the way forward. The current proposed dialogue scheduled for October 21, 2014 will be the second in the Dialogue Series which seeks to build on the first.
The function is also to Focus on the 4thRepublican Constitution of 1992 (which like previous Constitutions such as the 1960,1969 and 1979 ) embodies the doctrine or concept of separation of powers the distribution of governmental power for effective governance amongst the three arms of government namely; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.
The concept also seeks to protect the citizenry from the exercise of arbitrary power by preventing a concentration of power in the hands of any one organ of government or individuals.
Accordingly, Article 58 of the 1992 Constitution duly vests executive authority in the Executive (the President exercises this power). Article 93(2) also vests legislative power in the Legislature or their agents.
The scope and extent of the doctrine of separation of powers under the 1992 Constitution is to ensure that each arm of state in the performance of its duties as provided by the Constitution, acts independently. However, it makes room for interplay by the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary for ensuring effective governance of the state (checks and balances)
The Dialogue will therefore focus on separation of powers and checks and balances. Balancing the Power between the three Arms of Government on
-what are the constitutional guarantees of independence theoretically and in practice between the three arms of Government and how we can strengthen them?
The format for the program which will last for three hours will be simple.
There will be no formal presentations but discussions to be moderated by a Moderator. The Dialogue will provide a platform for the discussants to critically discuss the issues and respond to questions from invited participants.
Source:
By Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai
Executive Director
EANFOWORLD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
P.O.BOX 17070AN 233244370345/23326370345/ 233208844791
[email protected] /[email protected]
