Public policy is defined according to Thomas Dye as, "whatever government chooses to do or not to do ". This explains the actions taken by the officials in steering the affairs of government. It also involves inactions which, here, mean government choosing not to do anything. For instance in 2011, it became a public policy when the then President of Ghana, President John Mills decided not to do anything about the Cote d'Ivoire civil war. Therefore in summary, public policy is a set of decisions taken by government. The public policy environment reveals actors who affect the process. One of the key primary actors is the president of the state. This office of the President wields enormous powers to influence the public policy in Ghana. In the 1960 and the 1979 constitutions, the President was vested with the executive authority which made him the Head of Government and at the same time the Head of State. The current 1992 constitution makes the same provision. This gives him the mandate to determine, influence and affect the policy process in the state.
This essay is divided into two important halves with the first half discussing the powers or the functions of the President whilst the other half delves into the limitations of the president of the Republic of Ghana.
First of all, in the public policy making process, the President has been vested with powers that help the process to achieve the ultimate goal. One of these five powers that this essay would discuss is the power conferred on him to wield the executive authority. "The authority of Ghana shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of this constitution " (1992 constitution, 58:1). This makes the President the Head of Government and Head of State as well as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President makes appointments of ministers, Metropolitan Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and almost all the political portfolios because of the power he wields as the first gentleman of the state.