The national executive is the body that puts the laws written by parliament into action. The executive cannot pass new laws. The national executive is called the cabinet and it consists of the president, the deputy president and cabinet ministers appointed by the president.

THE PRESIDENT

The president is the head of state, head of the cabinet and commander-in-chief of the defence force. The National Assembly elects them from among its members.

THE CABINET

The cabinet consists of the president, the deputy president, and all the ministers, for example, the minister of education, the minister of health, and so on. Each minister has a government department and administration that they are in charge of.

The president selects and appoints the deputy president and the ministers in the cabinet. The president can also appoint deputy ministers to assist members of the cabinet. The president can dismiss any of these people he or she has appointed.

The deputy president and the ministers are all accountable to the president and to parliament. The executive has to follow the policies of the government. For example, the minister of education and his or her department must carry out all the laws that parliament makes about education and put into practice the government’s policies on education. The different departments can refer bills to parliament to have them made into laws.