A former head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Emile Francis Short, says the Council of State should be redesigned into a second chamber of Parliament.

He said it is important the Council is expanded to ensure its effectiveness.

Justice Short made this suggestion at the 2nd Accra Dialogues held over the week at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

The programme had former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor as part of the main speakers.

The event, which was under the auspices of the Institute of Law and Public Affairs in partnership with Media General, managers of TV3, 3FM, Onua FM and 3news.com, was themed: ‘The Role of the Council of State: A Critical Assay’.

Justice Short proposed that in making the Council a second chamber, tenure of its members should overlap that of the presidency. He suggested a six-year tenure for each member to give them more relevance.

The current Council as per the Constitution is constituted at the start of each presidency with all but 10 members appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament. The former CHRAJ boss, however, wants the powers of the Council to be exclusive of the president.

His proposal was backed by former President Kufuor, who had called for a Second House to be made up of Ghanaian citizens of high repute.

JJ agrees with Kufuor ‘for once’ on changes to Council of State Mr Kufuor says the Second House of Parliament should have members who will not be elected but selected based on their rich experience and good standing in society to serve as ombudsman to democracy.