Governance expert and former United Nations senior governance advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has said that President Akuffo-Addo’s recent cabinet reshuffle will not have a significant positive impact on the government.
Professor Agyeman-Duah believes that the President’s action has come too late. He thinks this is because there was a significant delay in the President’s response to the calls from Ghanaians, including some NPP MPs, to dismiss some of his appointees.
At one point, Ghanaians were calling for a serious reshuffle of the government, including some members of the President’s own party who are in Parliament. It’s understood that there was even a meeting between this group and the President.
Ghanaians at one point demanded a serious overhaul of the government, which included some members of the President’s own party who were serving in Parliament. There was reportedly a meeting between this group and the President, but nothing came of it.
The finance minister’s continuing tenure was a major point of contention. However, despite public sentiment, President Akuffo-Addo did not make any changes.
With only about 10 months remaining until the end of his term, what can the newly appointed officials do to improve governance under this President? A governance expert raised this question on TV3’s political analysis program, Ghana Tonight, on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The expert also noted that these new appointees are likely to join the NPP presidential candidate’s campaign to break the ‘eight’ and may therefore spend less time at their respective ministries.
Many of the individuals who have been appointed to new ministries or positions will be busy with campaigns once the season begins in June.
It is uncertain how much time they will have to dedicate to their new roles, and it is unclear what positive impact these changes will have on governance in the country, according to Prof. Agyeman-Duah. Despite Dr. Amin Adam’s excellent academic credentials, he may not be able to succeed as the replacement for Ken Ofori-Atta, the former minister of finance, as per Prof. Agyeman-Duah’s emphasis.
In the early hours of Wednesday, February 14, 2024, President Akufo-Addo carried out a ministerial reshuffle, ten months prior to the end of his term. Some ministers, such as Ken Ofori-Atta, were dismissed, while others, such as Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Francis Asenso Boakye, were reassigned to different portfolios. According to an anonymous source, the dismissed finance minister, Mr. Ofori-Atta, may have been the main reason for the reshuffle.
The following is a statement made by a source regarding the recent replacement of Ghana’s Finance Minister, Mr. Ofori-Atta, with Dr. Adam. The source believes that although Dr. Adam is a qualified individual, he may not have sufficient time to implement significant changes in his new role. Additionally, the source notes that many experienced ministers have been reshuffled to new positions.
In response to the reshuffle, Mr. Arhin stated that the President personally expressed his appreciation to all the outgoing Ministers and Deputy Ministers for their commitment, competence, dedication, and hard work during their time in office. The President wished each of them well in their future endeavors.
