Parliament has passed the Council of State Bill, 2020 into Law to provide for the establishment of a Secretariat to provide professional and administrative support for the Council of State to adequately deliver on its mandate.
The Bill was laid in the House on Tuesday 6th October, 2020 by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akufo in accordance with Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution and referred to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee for consideration and report.
The Council of State was established and composed under Article 89 of the 1992 Constitution. It performs several roles in the governance of the country, among which is the constitutional duty to counsel the President and to consider Bills which have been published in the Gazette or passed by Parliament upon request by the President under Article 90 of the Constitution.
Chairperson of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Ben Abdallah Banda, presenting the Committee’s report, said despite the crucial mandate of the Council of State within the governance system, it is bereft of the necessary administrative structures for the smooth execution of its mandate since it has to rely on the services of few seconded officials from other public institutions.
It has therefore become imperative to enact a law to establish the necessary structure to provide for the establishment of a Secretariat to provide professional and administrative support for the effective and efficient delivery on the mandate of the Council.