By Sarah Baafi
The Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, has proposed sweeping changes to how presidents appoint ministers, including a ban on sitting Members of Parliament serving as ministers and a hard cap on the total number of ministerial positions.
In its final report submitted to President John Dramani Mahama, the committee recommends amending Article 78(1) of the 1992 Constitution to state that no MP may be appointed as a Minister of State, Deputy Minister, or Regional Minister. It further proposes that an MP who resigns from Parliament should also be ineligible for ministerial appointment for the rest of that parliamentary term.
To tackle concerns about oversized governments, the committee urges an amendment to Article 78(2) to limit the total number of Ministers of State, including deputy and regional ministers, to no more than three times the number of cabinet ministers. With cabinet size already capped at nineteen under Article 76(1), this would restrict all ministerial appointments to a maximum of fifty-seven. The report also advises that presidents should no longer appoint deputy regional ministers.
Under the proposals, any president who wants to exceed the 57-minister ceiling would be required to write to Parliament, justify the additional appointment, and secure prior approval by a simple majority of all MPs. The committee believes these reforms would reduce patronage, strengthen Parliament’s independence, and create what it describes as a more “effective, focused presidency” better oriented toward national development rather than partisan advantage.
