Merge Some Ministries, Reduce Presidential Staffers - Minority Demands

Minority Caucus in Parliament has called on President Akufo-Addo to immediately merge some ministries and reduce the number of presidential staffers. In an address to the media on Monday, February 20, Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said, with the prevailing economic crisis, it is untenable for the president to appoint more ministers, burdening the already distressed public purse.

The Minority Leader wants the Ministry of Food and the Agriculture merged with the Fisheries Ministry and the Chieftaincy Ministry merged with the Tourism Ministry. The Minority is also calling for the Sanitation and the Local Government Ministry to be merged to help reduce the size of the government.

The Minority caucus also wants the Information and the Communication ministries to be merged and Transport and Railways ministries are also merged. The Minority caucus has also served notice that they will participate in Monday’s vetting but will reject the approval of all the nominees.

“We in the Minority wish to make it clear that we remain committed to ensuring greater scrutiny and will spare no effort to protect the public purse. In line with this, we are taking part in the vetting process so that at the very minimum, we can scrutinize the President’s decision in bringing up those nominees. However, the Minority will not subscribe to a consensus vote at the level of the Appointments Committee.”

Among other things, the Minority is also demanding the “immediate scrapping of all amorphous creations and waste-pipe, job-for-the-boys’ appointments since the assumption of office of President Akufo Addo in 2017. The work of those undefined, amorphous creations must revert to established entities in the civil and public service that perform similar, if not the same functions.”

The group also reiterated its call for the “dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ofori-Atta whose gross incompetence in managing our economy has assumed legendary status. The President must spare Ghanaians the agony of waking up tomorrow to see Ken Ofori-Atta still in charge of the economy.”