ARMS OF GOVERNMENT

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Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about the arms of government. Enjoy the class!

Arms of Government

The arm of government refers to the division of governmental powers into three organs in a modern political system. The constitution of most countries has defined the functions of them. The three arms or organs or structure of government are the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.

• The Executive:

The executive arm of government is the organ responsible for policymaking and implementation of policies and laws that are made in the country. The executive arm deals with administration and that is where we can find personalities such as the president, Governors of states, Ministers, the Civil servants, the armed forces, the police, and so on. The executive is the highest and the most visible arm of government.

Functions of the executive

1. The executive arm is responsible for the formulation of policies which guide the day-by-day running of government.
2. The executive is responsible for the implementation of the policies and laws made by the legislative arm. For example, the police, the military and other law enforcement agencies perform this function.
3. The executive arm of government maintains law and order. The Chief executive officer of a state is the Chief security officer of the state.
   

4. The executive generates funds and allocates it. In other words, it is the executive through the ministry of finance that prepares the budget and implements when it is approved.
5. The executive manages all the activities of the government. It appoints various government functionaries such as the ministers, ambassadors, heads of service, permanent secretaries, etc.
6. It maintains external relations with other countries. 

• The legislature:

The legislative arm of government is the organ responsible for law-making. It is also in charge of policies, programmes and ideas concerning important decisions.

The legislature is often referred to as the parliament, assembly, congress, and so on.

Functions of legislature

1. The primary function of the legislature is to make laws for the country or state.
2. The legislature performs oversight function on the executive. This function is in the form of fact-finding to ensure strict compliance with the rules or law formulated.
3. The legislature must ensure that all appointees of the executives are screened.
   

4. One of the functions of the legislature is to amend any clause in the constitution that public calls for.
5. The legislature subjects the appropriation bills of the executive to thorough scrutiny before it is passed into law to become budget.
6. They have the power to set up panels to investigate the activities of any departments of the government.
7. They are empowered to impeach the President.

• The judiciary:

The judiciary is the structure of government that interprets the laws. It acts as a check and balance to the other two arms of government. This arm of government is made up of the different courts, such as the Supreme Court, Appeal Court, High Court, Magistrate Court, Customary Court, Administrative Courts and tribunals.

Functions of the judiciary

1. The most important function of the judiciary is to interpret laws in terms of giving judgement.
2. The judiciary protects the rights of the people. This is why it is referred to as the last hope of the common man.
3. By interpreting the law, the judiciary gives necessary punishment to the deserved offenders.
4. The judiciary enforces the law by commanding the police to enforce their judgments.
5. It settles disputes among individuals, corporate organisations, communities and governments.
6. The judiciary performs administrative functions such as swearing-in of heads of government such as the president and the governor.

 

In our next class, we will be talking about the Other Strong Institution of Government.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

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