60 ministers will not help your political cause, you need more ministers - Afenyo-Markin tells Mahama
Accra, Ghana - 24 Jan, 2025 - Ghana's Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on President John Mahama to reconsider his pledge to limit ministerial appointments to 60, warning that this could compromise effective governance.
During a parliamentary debate on January 23, Mr Afenyo-Markin expressed concerns that the restricted number of ministers would hinder the government's ability to manage complex governance issues. He argued that combining ministries, such as the Local Government and Chieftaincy Ministry, would require intensive oversight and conflict resolution, potentially overburdening the few appointees.
Mr Afenyo-Markin suggested that President Mahama should apologise to Ghanaians and consider increasing the number of ministers to ensure effective governance. He also cautioned that reducing the number of ministers while maintaining the same number of civil servants might not lead to cost savings, but rather inadequate supervision and monitoring, potentially causing governance lapses.
"When we make mistakes, let's admit them and apologise. 60 ministers will not help your political cause.
"...I am not the president, but if I were to advise Mr President, I would say, Mr President, you can apologise to Ghanaians and say, look, you underestimated the thing. I think I need to engage more ministers.''
“People forget that when you merge two ministries, the staffers remain the same. All the civil servants who are there stay. One minister supervising everything will soon lead to things getting out of hand, and then corruption accusations will follow,” he noted.
“Let’s boldly explain the intricacies of politics to the public instead of falling into the trap of unrealistic political commitments,'' he added.
Source: Lead News Online
