President-elect John Dramani Mahama has been admonished to prioritize skill, expertise, and experience in his appointments to various ministries, departments, and agencies, avoiding the conventional political reward approach for the upcoming Ministerial Appointments Ghana.
Financial Economist at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr. Jabir Mohammed maintains that there is a need for the incoming administration to drastically cut down the number of appointees considering the current financial and economic situation of the country.
The economist strongly believes there is a need for the next administration to cut down costs and prioritize efficiency. He is therefore proposing ministerial appointments not exceeding 34 and calling for the merging and realignment of some ministries for better Ministerial Appointments Ghana.
Dr. Jabir Mohammed further argues that with the proposed drastic decrease in ministerial appointments, the appointments must heavily prioritize the skill set, expertise, and experience of the appointees.
With the proposed downsizing, Dr. Jabir says the government cannot use the appointments as political reward schemes disregarding the qualification of the appointee which can put the nation in jeopardy during the Ministerial Appointments Ghana.
“In my proposal to cap the ministerial appointments to not more than 34, I propose for the realignment of the ministries to help reduce cost and make the government more efficient. It is time for skill rather than political reward,” the financial economist argues.
The senior lecturer at UGBS is convinced that such a lean government with a priority on efficiency is likely to reduce cost and minimize corruption which has been plaguing Ghana for years.
He further proposes the appointment of technical people to support ministries that have multiple functions who will report to the minister with daily briefings. This approach could streamline the Ministerial Appointments Ghana.
He says,“less cost and corruption will be minimized. They have less pressure to satisfy constituents. No regional minister, only Executive Secretaries supported by the MMDCEs.”
This 34 ministerial appointment capping comes in sharp contrast with President-elect, Mahama’s plan to appoint 60 ministers. This 60 ministers is a drastic reduction compared to the over 80 appointments made by outgoing President Akufo-Addo’s administration.
However, some analysts agree with Dr. Jabir that even 60 ministers is too large a number considering the current state of the country’s economy.
Some realignments proposed include the merging of Health and Education ministries, Communication and Information, Works and Housing with Roads and Highways etc.
Further proposals include the scrapping of deputy ministers for Youth, Employment & Labour Relations, and Tourism & Culture ministries.
With few days to the swearing of the President-elect, many eyes are keenly watching to see what Mr. Mahama will make of these proposals for Ministerial Appointments Ghana.
