As long as we have good leadership in the country, functioning institutions and the governed playing their key roles by sticking to their core duties, Ghana stands to benefit immersely as we expect and desire. However, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana has some serious flaws in its provisions which threaten the independence of the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive. The obvious manipulation and danger lies with the Executive branch which can consolidate itself over the Legislature to the point of strangulation. This provision of the Constitution which stipulates that the president should appoint majority of his ministers from parliament is baseless to say the least. If the work of a minister is worth so much in running affairs of the ministry with so many deputies and special assistants rather than just attending kindergarten and hairdressers’ graduation then it is hard time we cease such practice of having one person as Minister and Member of Parliament at the same time. Why do we deprive ourselves of the pool of talents for development by allowing only few people to handle so many demanding jobs which we know they cannot efficiently and effectively execute yet they still get paid for all the positions and enjoy their accompanying benefits? If this is meant to save money, I beg to differ that we end up spending more and lose than gain. A Member of Parliament is elected for a full-time representation at Parliament for his/her constituency. This means 100% of his time, energy and thoughts are to be discharged in his/her work at Parliament. A Minister as a key figure at the ministry providing direction and formulating policies, cannot rationally be expected with the limited time at his/her disposal and still be working as MP by attending sittings regularly, not forgetting the numerous travels and meetings they undertake in the course of performing their duties. How can the Minister/MP perform 200% of the combined positions within the same 24 hour period a day? Surprisingly, if this Minister/MP thing never constitutes financial loss to the State, then obviously it is an intellectual corruption, as simple as that. If this provision is not amended, the best we can expect from Minister/MP is mediocre performances and the people of Ghana will continue to be the biggest losers. How do you expect a minister to formulate and propose a policy and be able to subject it to constructive analysis in parliament? Obviously, he cannot see from a different angle at this point. There is nothing so annoying than to see a Minister propose a law, then go to Parliament on the day of voting as MP to endorse it. You cannot be a boxer and judge at the same time. It's time we bury rubber stamp politics together with tribal politics in Ghana. To have productive Ministers, MPs who get the nod for ministerial positions must resign their seats in Parliament. (How their vacated seats would be filled is another subject for discussion). A recent point of reference is the US elections; President-elect Barack Obama has resigned his Senate seat, Vice President-elect Joe Biden has resigned his Senate seat, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State nominee will resign her Senate seat if she is approved, Obama Chief-of-Staff nominee Rahm Emanuel will step down from the House of Representatives if he is confirmed. If this does not prick the conscience of their Ghanaian counterparts, nothing will. These institutions are too important to be toyed with. If the American people with all the resources, technologies, and long history of practising democracy have not ventured into such a terrain, can we prove them otherwise? The fact remains that it is simply untenable to combine them; MPs must be made to resign their seats to take up ministerial posts if they want to be Ministers instead. Why the Ghanaian situation is different is a question our politicians need to answer? Are our Minister/MPs superhuman beings, are we trying to be economical, is it a lack of foresight or it plays into the whims and caprices of greedy politicians? I breathed a sigh of relief when former President John Kufuor raised a concern he had with this issue of appointing majority of Ministers from Parliament for reconsideration. For eight years he has tried it. Undoubtedly, he found it no brainy, abusive and non-practical. For his unashamedly laudable efforts on this provision, I "recommend" Mr. Kufuor for another National Award! This sole beneficiaries of this provision are the MPs, and is it any wonder MPs have been totally silent on it? It amounts to playing considerably into their expectations or dreams that one day they might be appointed, at least they know majority of the Ministers will come from among themselves and of course that has been the trend for all these years. The speed, consensus, oneness and the unanimous agreements that our MPs are able to foster without the usual acrimonious tendencies are very impressive and it never ceases to amaze me. It's time our MPs become a bit selfless, patriotic and nationalistic whiles discharging their noble duties to the State and their constituencies. What we should understand is that Parliament transcends the President and must not be made a tool in his hands. Parliament should conduct itself in character and business by constructively engaging in debates and enactments devoid of serving the agenda of a ruling political party in power. As discerning and savvy as the Ghanaian electorate has become, there is the need to monitor our MPs; how they vote on issues, their statements, character and more importantly how they represent the constituencies in Parliament. This would aid us to elect performing MPs and not just to give them the nod because they are representing a party in its stronghold. The change Ghanaians voted for must include this necessary amendment where the Legislature will not have "half" of its members as Ministers and still be expected to play a meaningful watchdog role over the Executive. President John Atta Mills, over to you. The concept of separation of powers, checks and balances are the only real means of protecting and safeguarding our political institutions from abusing power and mismanagement and we cannot afford to have any compromise in a constitutional provision which guarantees a "pay-to-play" politics for our "Honourable" MPs.. Credit: Tornam Dumor ( e-mail: tornamd@yahoo.com )