Friday,
January 18, 2013
We can confirm that
President Mahama is intent on forming a team that knows what his agenda for “Better
Ghana Phase Two” entails and will commit themselves fully to enunciating and
implementing policies and programmes to actualize his dream. His appointments
have revealed a lot that we have been discussing.
New Ministries/New Faces
President Mahama’s
appointments into new Ministries include Hon. Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kunbuor (as Minister in
Charge of Government Business in Parliament), Nana Oye Lithur (Minister of
Gender, Children, and Social Protection); Akwasi Oppong-Fosu (Minister of Local
Government and Rural Development); Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang (Minister of
Education, and also ex-Vice Chancellor of University of Cape Coast).
These new faces—a blend of known NDC activists
and those not known as such—give me a clear idea about how President Mahama is
going about things, bringing into his government names that we haven't heard
associated with the workings of the NDC. Should I call it an attempt at an “all-inclusive”
government, then?
The designation of Hon. Kunbuor as Minister in
Charge of Government Business in Parliament is a novelty. It meets the demand
of the NDC majority for such a Minister to liaise between Parliament and the
Executive in terms of laying bills before the House or answering questions that
the Majority Leader should—on behalf of the government.
Some Ministries have
either been re-designated or collapsed into others, which doesn’t really add
anything substantial to the equation. We know that a mere nomenclature won’t
solve problems. I can see a problem in the designation of Ministries,
especially where Alhaji Collins Dauda is for Minister of Water Resources. What
is this new Ministry, and is it necessary at all?
These
questions bring to mind the new Ministry that has been created for Nana Lithur
(Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection). Though not discounting
the need for official attention to be given to gender, children, and social
protection, I wonder if there is need for a whole new Ministry for these areas.
We’ve had a Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs before that can’t be said
to have solved any problem to improve the conditions of women and children.
All-inclusiveness
The new faces now being appointed may have
their strengths that President Mahama wants to tap into to enhance governance.
Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong,
Minister-designate for Justice and Attorney-General, isn't known to me as an
NDC operative. We have gathered that she is a lawyer of high repute who used to
work with Tony Lithur, President Mahama’s lawyer in the NPP’s Election 2012 lawsuit.
She came to light during the sitting of the Ghana @50 Commission when she asked
“tough” questions I hope she is the one to clamp down on the Ministry and make
the expected difference.
I
believe President Mahama brought these new faces on board because of their
competence and dedicated service. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang is known for her
administrative acumen and contributions to education while Nana Lithur is a
strong human rights advocate whose inclusion should give her the opportunities
she needs to work for the good of society.
Prominent Personalities not given appointments
Some concerns have
also been expressed that some notable NDC figures (such as Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Fiifi
Kwetey, Kofi Adams, etc.) haven’t been
appointed yet. The appointments so far don't include those people. We don't
know why. How certain can we be that Spio-Garbrah, for instance, is interested
in being appointed to any Ministry? Or that anybody on people’s lips is even
interested in working in the government? For reasons best known to President
Mahama, such people may not be on his list or may be reserved for other
assignments. Let's wait to see what unfolds.
Cadre Corps
The appointments include those who easily come
across as “revolutionary cadres” whose inclusion may be seen as an attempt to
satisfy the cadre corps in the party. Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, Ms. Hanny-Sherry Ayittey, etc. are not new, having
served in various capacities under the Rawlings’ P/NDC.
The
Youth Factor
We see also a good number of youths on the list
of appointees, which reaffirms the President’s determination to empower that
segment of the population. Our politics should be aimed at grooming the youth
for them to hone their governance skills and serve the country better. Placed
in such leadership positions, these appointees should learn how to handle
affairs properly and shy away from practices that endanger national life.
Conclusion
Obviously,
these appointments are appropriate inasmuch as they reflect the calibre of government
that President Mahama wants to put in place. None of them matters more than
that of the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General’s Department which,
under the previous administration, failed to solve problems and ended up
disgracing the government instead.
We
have in mind the infamous Woyome judgement debt scandal and all others rolled
into one as the judgement debt debacle. We also have in mind the ease with
which government lost prominent cases at the courts, which dented its image.
Thus, we expect the new Minister to stamp her authority on that sector to clean
the mess and give Ghanaians the hope that the situation will change for the
better.
To
make a difference, President Mahama must formalize the appointment and
dismissal of his government’s functionaries. The existing norm by which
appointments are made and dismissals announced through mere radio announcements
without the affected appointees being informed beforehand must cease forthwith.
That
norm often tended to create animosity and turn the victims against the
government. Appointments and dismissals must be taken through the proper
channel so that no enmity is created to turn the victims against the party. It
must be possible for those victims to remain members of the party even if they
lose their official appointments because in politics, numbers count.
Appointments
to other major sectors are yet to be made. We hope that the President will
choose those who can do the work, not necessarily those busily sloganeering the
loudest. We want to see a better approach to governance in all sectors.
As
we wait for the vetting of these appointees to begin, we look forward to a
healthy public debate on governance strategies and the role of these Ministries
in our national life.
I shall return…
·
E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
·
Join
me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the
conversation
No comments:
Post a Comment