EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GOVERNMENT

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There are two main levels of government in Ghana. They are:

government at the national level

government at the district level

Government at the national level is often referred to as central government. Centralgovernment is the government of the whole country, rather than the local government.Government at the district level is local government which is concerned with smaller areas. Local government shows a smaller part of central government or a subset unit of governmentcreated by the central government for the purpose of administering a local area.

Since 1998 Ghana has had a reformed local government, that is, the nation has improved and made changes in its local government system, which is now called District Assembly (government at the district level). The government at the national level (central government) and at the district level (district assembly) have the regions to organize the different parts of an activity and the people involved in it so that it works well. The district level serves as the focus development. In other words, with the reformed local government, the government at the district level is the point at which development of the nation begins.

The structure of government at the National Level (Central Government) The structure of government at the national level or the way in which the parts of government at organized is as follows:

the national level (central government) are connected together, arranged or

The Executive

The Legislative

The Judiciary

The above are the three main arms of government and they are government at the national level.

THE EXECUTIVE OR POLICYMAKING AND IMPLEMENTATION BODY

The executive organ or arm of government is the policy making and implementation body concerning the administration of the state. In other words, the executive is the branch of government that is concerned with the day-to-day administration of the country, making policies and directing allactivities of the state.

The executive is made up of:

The President

The Cabinet

The Civil Service, Police Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The President is the leader of the republie or the head of state. He is also the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ghana. The cabinet is a group of the most important government ministers or ministers of state together with the President and his vice who are responsible for advising and deciding on government policy. The civil service refers to the government departments in a country and the people who work for them. The police service is part of the
civil service but the armed forces (army, navy and air force) is not. The civil service, police service and Internal Revenue Service work under the direction and control of the executive, The head of the executive arm of government is the President of the nation.

Functions of the executive

The several functions of the executive include:

• The executive formulates and implements policies for the smooth administration of the state. The cabinet and the civil service assist or help the executive in this direction.

• It maintains law and order. The executive relies on the police and the army to maintain law and order in the country.

• The executive performs some legislative functions, for example it proposes bills for parliament to consider.

• The executive prepares the national budget and places it before parliament. Parliament then discusses it and gives its approval for it to be implemented.

• The executive sees to it that all the activities of government function together efficiently and effectively in an organized manner. For example, the various ministries and departments into which the government is divided always work closely together

• The executive performs some functions that look like or appear to be judicial. For instance, the President has the sole right or prerogative of pardoning criminals. This is called" the granting of amnesty". The president is supposed to deliver "the State of the Nation address" once every year prior to the opening of parliament.

THE LEGISLATURE OR LAW MAKING BODY

The legislature is an elected of representative body in a state or country that has the sole responsibility for passing laws to control the affairs of society, To put it in simple words: thelegislature is a body of people with the power or authority to make and change law. The Legislature or law making body (parliament) in Ghana consists of.

The speaker

Two deputy speakers.

.Two hundred and thirty elected members
While the speaker is nominated by the President and must be approved by parliamemt,.his. deputies are intact elected nembers of pariament included in the 230 member parliament. The speaker is assisted by a parliamentary service board which consists of leaders of all parties in parliament and members of the parliamentary service (the clerk ot parliament and oma
staff). The speaker is also assisted by the two deputy speakers.

Functions of the Legislature (Parliament)

Among the several functions of the legislature are.

• The legislature (parliament) makes laws for the country.

• It controls the finances of the state, that is it gives authority to the executive through the budget to raise and spend public funds.

• It appropriates funds to the various departments of the executive to support their ministries. (To appropriate funds is to put money on one side or aside for a particular purpose).

• Parliament gives approval to loans the executive contracts.

• Parliament has the power to call for investigations into any problem of national interest so that it can find solutions to them.

• Parliament approves the nominees of the President for appointment. (A nominee is a person chosen for an office, position etc).

• The legislature (parliament) debates issues of national importance.

THE JUDICIARY OR THE COURTS

• The judiciary is the organ, arm or branch of government given authority or that has the power to interpret, apply and enforce the laws of Ghana. The head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice.

• The judiciary is made up of: The Supreme Court (The highest court of the land), The Court of Appeal, The Regional Tribunals, The Fast Track Court, Lower Courts and other courts as parliament may establish.

Functions of the Judiciary (courts).

The several functions of the judiciary include:

• They settles disputes between individuals and beween individual and the state.

• The judiciary ensures justice and fair play.

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