President Nana Akufo-Addo has scrapped at least 28 ministerial roles for his second term in office, sources close to the presidency have revealed to the theghanareport.com.
There are at least nine ministries that are likely to be axed when President Akufo-Addo announces his army of appointments to execute his plans for the next four years.
Additionally, all deputy regional ministerial portfolios will not be on the list of appointees.
With some ministries having multiple deputies, at least 28 of the offices are likely to be scrapped.
Some of the ministries would be merged or realigned to existing traditional institutions and others removed entirely.
Sectors set-up for specific purposes under President Akufo-Addo’s first term are said to have completed their tasks and the new-look government is likely to have less than 100 ministers.
The ministerial portfolios that are likely to be collapsed
The Minister of State in Charge of Procurement is off.
With extra-parliamentary duties lifted off her shoulders, Sarah Adwoa Safo who headed that ministry is a candidate for Deputy Attorney General or Minister for Gender and Social Protection.
Ofoase Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is likely to be Presidential Spokesperson relieving Eugene Arhin from Director of Communications at the Presidency.
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The Information Ministry is likely to be merged with the Ministry of Communication with Ablekuma West MP Ursula Owusu-Ekuful as the minister.
The Information Ministry has two deputies – Pious Enam Hadzide and MP for Akuapem North Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei.
The Business Development Ministry is likely to have the Ministry of Trade and Industry assuming that role.
In view of that, former Business Development Minister Mohammed Awal has a high chance of being re-assigned to the Ministry of Tourism as a substantive minister.
The Ministry of Aviation, which was one of the newly-created ministries under President Akufo-Addo’s first term is likely to be absorbed by the Ministry of Transport.
Former minister for the sector, Joseph Kofi Adda, is not likely to hold any ministerial appointment in the next government, according to reliable
Mr Adda lost the party’s Navrongo primaries to former Upper East Regional Minister Tangoba Abayege.
However, Ms Abayege failed to capture the seat for the NPP in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
She blamed Mr Adda partly for campaigning against her and the party.
The Aviation Ministry had MP for Takoradi Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah as the deputy minister.
The Ministry of Planning which was headed by Professor George Yaw Gyan-Baffour is to be taken over by the Ministry of Finance after it was decoupled from the same ministry by President Akufo-Addo. The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta will remain unchanged
Prof Gyan-Baffour was a third term MP for Wenchi but lost in the 2020 parliamentary elections to the NDC’s Seidu Haruna.
The Ministry of Inner-Cities and Zongo Development supervised by Islamic scholar Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid will likely be changed into an authority whose functions would oversight responsibility under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
MP for Okere, Dan Botwe has been earmarked as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development in the next administration.
Mr Botwe was the Minister for Regional Reorganization and Development. He engineered the creation of six new regions increasing Ghana’s regions to 16.
The new regions were Oti, Savannah, Western North, North East, Bono, and Bono East.
The Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation which had Dr Anthony Akoto Osei as the minister is likely to be removed as well.
Its functions will be taken by the Presidency.
Dr Osei who was MP for Old Tafo stepped down and did not put himself up for re-election.
Ministry of Special Development Initiatives overseen by MP for Awutu-Senya Mavis Hawa Koomson has also been earmarked to be scrapped.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to name more than half of his ministers from parliament in accordance with the Constitution.
But his choices are limited as the NPP MPs have been reduced from 169 to 137.
Independent MP for Fomena, Isaac Asiamah Amoako, who was axed from the NPP ahead of 2020 elections, decided to join the NPP MPs in doing business in parliament.
This was how the NPP got a majority in parliament after losing the Speaker of Parliament position to the NDC’s Alban Bagbin.
How many ministers were under the previous Akufo-Addo government?
The number of Ministers and Deputies summed up to be 123 by the end of the first administration which ended in 2021. President Akufo-Addo began his tenure with 110 but the figure increased after reshuffling and additional appointments mostly due to the new regions.
The 123-figure comprised of 36 substantive Ministers with 48 Deputies and seven Ministers of State. There were 16 Regional Ministers with 16 Deputy Regional Ministers.
President Akufo-Addo described his appointments as “a necessary investment to make for the rapid transformation of this country”.
“I’m aware that people are concerned about what they see as maybe the cost of this large government,” he defended, adding the ministers “are coming to work, it is not going to be a holiday”.
But the NPP had criticised their predecessors over huge appointments.
Source: thereportghana
