Constitutional Review Chair: 'Limiting Presidential Appointments is Key to Achieving Real Change

Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, the Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee, has advocated for significant reforms to the country’s Constitution to reduce the president’s dominance over appointments. He argues that Ghana’s current governance system is too centralized, granting excessive power to the presidency at the expense of democratic accountability and local governance.

In a recent interview with Joy FM on March 17, 2025, Prof. Prempeh expressed concern about the extent to which the president has control over key appointments in the country. He pointed out that the president’s authority extends to appointing Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), heads of state agencies, and members of various public boards. According to Prof. Prempeh, this concentration of decision-making power in the hands of one individual undermines the principles of democracy and accountability, which should be at the core of Ghana’s political system.

Prof. Prempeh highlighted that under the current system, the president’s decisions heavily influence how development is carried out at the local level. He noted that this leads to a situation where the president’s policies guide the direction of local governance and development, limiting the autonomy of local leaders. He further emphasized that local officials should be more accountable to the people they serve rather than being beholden to the president, whose appointments often come with political strings attached.

“Currently, the president appoints virtually everyone in the government,” Prof. Prempeh explained during the interview. “His policies dominate, even at the local government level. This severely undermines the principles of local democracy, where local leaders should ideally be focused on serving the needs of their communities, not answering to the president alone.”

He went on to question the rationale behind the president’s exclusive role in appointing key government figures, including the MMDCEs and heads of state-owned enterprises. In his view, these positions should be filled through elections or independent selection processes, ensuring that those in charge are more directly accountable to the public.

“Why should the president be the one appointing all the MMDCEs across the country, especially with the inherent politics and bias in the process? How many CVs can one person realistically review?” he asked rhetorically. Prof. Prempeh’s point was that the current system is not only inefficient but also fails to foster genuine democratic engagement. Local leaders, instead of representing the interests of their constituents, are often preoccupied with pleasing the president in order to secure or maintain their positions.

The excessive centralization of power in the presidency, Prof. Prempeh argues, is detrimental to the development of democratic institutions and the strengthening of Ghana’s political system. When decision-making is concentrated in the hands of one individual, the system becomes vulnerable to manipulation and weakens the checks and balances that are essential to a functioning democracy. As a result, the president becomes too influential in shaping national and local policies, diminishing the capacity of other branches of government to exercise their own authority independently.

To remedy these systemic issues, Prof. Prempeh proposed that Ghana’s Constitution should be revised to place limits on the number of appointments a president can make. He emphasized that such changes would be critical to moving the country towards a more decentralized and accountable system of governance. By limiting the president’s power in this area, Prof. Prempeh believes that the country can achieve more balanced power dynamics, where local leaders have greater independence and are more directly accountable to the people they serve.

“If we truly want meaningful change in our governance system, we need constitutional reforms that limit the scope of presidential appointments,” Prof. Prempeh concluded. He further noted that such reforms would create a more inclusive political system where diverse voices and leadership structures can thrive, rather than one that is dominated by the authority of a single office.

In advocating for these reforms, Prof. Prempeh calls on the government and the people of Ghana to engage in a deeper discussion about the need for a more equitable system that fosters greater accountability and democratic participation.