A legal practioner, Andrew Nii Adjei Kartey, has intimated that, it was his wish for the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to have nominated more of the new face in his ministerial appointments.
He indicated that, although new people are coming on board per the nomination list that has been released, they are not new faces but rather old people who were already in governance but were not having ministerial positions.
Speaking in a discussion on the ministerial nominations by the President, he was of the view that, the President knows best with regards to the nominated Ministers on the list awaiting approval and as such his decision to select the people he deemed fit to carry out their respective functions.
Commenting on the Ministers who were not retained, he disclosed that, some factors may have been the fact that they lost their various seats during the elections.
“I realised that, a larger number of ministers were retained, a few new ones brought on board and some Ministers also had to forgo their seat probably because they lost their seats.”
Also commenting on the nominated Ministers, a private legal practitioner, Nana Agyeman Abu Bonsrah stated that, the President had the ultimate power to appoint, and as to who, for what and why, opining that, the Presidents selection was based on what he deemed good and ideal for his governance.
He stated that, per the appointment, the President’s consideration was based on what was going to give him resultant effect in his government.
He also added that, another factor that influenced the nomination and selection was political expediency explaining that the president is a politician and had the tenet to live up to expectation and as a result of he selecting the people he deemed fit for the job.
Touching on the number of Ministers, although reduced, he opined that, the number was based on what the President sees as ideal to execute his promises to the people effectively.
President Akufo-Addo last week submitted to Parliament for the approval, through the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, a list of names for appointment as Ministers in his new government.
This list included the names of some 46 persons expected to fill the ministerial positions and support the President to fulfil his mandate in the next four years.
Ahead of this official statement, the Head of Communications, at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin issued a communique indicating that the total number of Ministers to be appointed by President in his second term will not exceed 85.
This came in sharp contrast with the 126 ministerial appointments that characterised his first term in office.
Although the President maintained many of the appointees from his previous term, a few notable ones did not make the cut this time around.
Key among those who were excluded from this list of nominees are Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister for Local Government, Hajia Alima Mahama, Railways and Development minister, Joe Ghartey, Ministry of Works and Housing Samuel Atta Akyea and Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Gloria Akuffo.
