President Akufo-Addo’s Ministerial Appointments And Development Vision For Ghana By Nana Sifa Twum

On the 7th of January this year, Ghana saw the birth of a new government. The country again demonstrated to the rest of the world another democratic feat, with the swearing in of the fifth President of the Fourth Republic. The new government led by President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has nominated people for almost all key ministerial positions. The swift manner in which the names of the nominees were released signifies President Akufo-Addo's preparedness to take over the reins of governance of the country. This perhaps is unprecedented in the annals of the governance history of Ghana where within two days after swearing-in, the new President has come out with names of nominees to handle various ministries, to form the government. Some of the names were even announced before he was sworn in as President.

Taking into consideration the herculean task ahead of him and the limited time of four years he has to make an impact and perhaps qualify for reelection in 2020, President Akufo-Addo immediately communicated his nominations to the legislature. He went further to appeal to the august House to expedite action on the approval or otherwise of the nominees so that he can set in motion his governance machinery. His call to parliament to effectively scrutinize all his appointees and not “rubber stamp” them in “wholesale” as qualified is also welcome news. The thirty-six names so far nominated have been hailed as highly talented, rich in knowledge and skill and achievers. Most of them have much to show by way of success in their respective fields of endeavour. Throughout his campaign trail, President Akufo-Addo made the people of Ghana aware of how bad the economy had been, the deplorable nature of the rail system, and the poor living conditions in the Zongo communities. He told Ghanaians about the need to reorganize the regions to ensure fair, equitable and balanced distribution of national resources among other crucial national needs. His nominations for ministerial position therefore have direct bearing on these aspirations, especially when one looks at some new and unheard-of ministries.

By and large, the nominations have been hailed by experts as excellent as against what critics say constitute duplication. Governance Expert, Professor Baffour Agyeman Duah for instance has the view and I quote “every President has a vision therefore the creation of new Ministries are meant to promote the vision and goals of the new administration.” unquote. The clear message from these new ministries is that one cannot continue to do the same thing and hope to achieve new results. As a people, it is important to accept change, explore more opportunities available to achieve new and satisfying results. The President’s ambition to turn the nation around is obviously clear and the step for the start is right. All the key areas which the President has highlighted as crucial and therefore ensuring pragmatic approach to their recovery such as aviation, railways, regional reorganisation and business development are honestly genuine needs of the people of Ghana.

With a collapsed railway system and without a national carrier, Ghana has been entertaining more than 42 other national airlines into its air space. This indeed warrant such an approach from a visionary leader. The question about the cost implications and the funding of the new ministries should be looked at as an investment. The longer Ghanaians sustain such investments the more citizens will enjoy the dividends. It is also believed that the gender and regional issues will be addressed in the deputy ministerial and other appointments.

Ghanaians must exercise patience to see how the new Ministries would perform in the general governance of President Akufo-Addo, bearing in mind that we all float together or sink together.

BY NANA SIFA TWUM, MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT – LONDON- UK.