Former Chief of Staff under former President Kuffour, Kwadwo Mpiani, has described President Akufo-Addo’s ministerial reshuffle ten months to the 2024 general election as untimely and ineffective.
He stressed that although the President has the prerogative to reshuffle based on his assessment of the performance of ministers, such changes ought to have been initiated early enough so that newly assigned ministers can have ample time to study activities in their respective sectors before they can make any significant impact.
“Some of these appointees are completely new. How are they going to learn and know what goes on in the ministries to enable them to direct the ministries as expected of them? So what do you want to achieve? It is too close to the election, and I don’t believe they can effect any massive change.”
Kwadwo Mpiani
The former Chief of Staff also expressed worry about the size of President Akufo-Addo’s government which has eighty-six ministers. He reminded Ghanaians that the size of government goes beyond the number of ministers to include their deputies and the number of staff at the various ministries.
Also speaking on the government’s reshuffle was Fatimatu Abubakar who said that it is not always the case that the newly appointed ministers are novices to operations in their new office, citing her case as an example.
She argued that many of the appointed ministers or deputy ministers worked in state institutions or parliamentary committees that are directly related to the office they have been appointed to and so they are familiar with the ministry’s activities.
The information minister-designate disagreed with the popular opinion that ten months is too short a time for the newly appointed ministers to learn about operations and initiate any positive change where necessary. She stressed that the new ministers are expected to carry on with government projects and initiatives and ensure their successful completion before the end of their tenure.
New Government Appointees Urged To Complete Started Projects
Member of Parliament for Ketu North, James Klutse Avedzi, has entreated new ministerial nominees to prioritize the completion of already started government projects once their nomination is sanctioned by Parliament.
He emphasized that the new ministers have very limited time on their hands and advised them not to rush into initiating any new projects but to work tirelessly to ensure that all projects started by their government are completed within the limited time that they have.
Mr. Avedzi is convinced that the reshuffle will lead to some changes because the new ministers that are brought on board will have fresh ideas however those ideas may take a while to manifest.
“First of all, they need time to study the new ministries, and their new portfolio, and then see what they can do. It is nine months to the election so they are now coming on board by the time they settle to study their ministries and see the challenges that the ministry has, it will be getting to the election, and the campaign will become heated so they will not be able to implement any policy.”
James Klutse Avedzi
He advised the incoming finance minister to make time to study Ghana’s tax system and review it, especially those taxes that have been a burden to the citizenry while looking at the areas where the taxes can be expanded such that the country does not double tax those who are already paying.
He believes that once the tax base is expanded and the rate is low, the government will be able to achieve its annual revenue target. The Ketu North Member of Parliament perceived the possibility of the President asking the incoming finance minister to finance election-related activities, considering that the country is in an election year, and encouraged him to be resolute otherwise ‘he would exceed the government’s expenditure’.
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