According to him, it is within the president’s constitutional mandate to appoint as many ministers as he wishes, hence he must be allowed to do so.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HZWSlOklN0r2WSRl3ERrSEsPJn77r3TT”]Fritz Baffour’s comment is contrary to the views of other members of the NDC who believe that Akufo-Addo’s government size was a recipe for disaster for the country.

Ghanaians have expressed varied opinions on Akufo-Addo’s appointment of a hundred and ten (110) ministers – including deputies, to serve in his government.

The number is the highest in the country’s history, surpassing the immediate past John Mahama government by more than 20 appointees.

Many have criticized Akufo-Addo over the development which they say appears to be a betrayal of trust following pre-election assurances from Akufo-Addo that he will ensure a prudent and efficient government.

But according to the former Ablekuma South legislator, it is too early for Ghanaians to criticize the President on the development. He said it is more appropriate to measure the government’s success in honoring its promises rather than judging it by the number of ministers.

“The thing is that, we have a constitution and our politics is ruled by our constitution, and if the president decides that it is within the bound of the constitution to appoint many ministers, that is up to him; but the thing is that, it is within his constitutional mandate so there is nothing wrong with that. If you have a very large government, a large number of appointees and you don’t deliver, then you are in trouble and that is what I am seeing.”

“The noise is in retrospect rather than looking at the future. Those who are looking at the future, it hasn’t happened yet. The president’s agenda, he is going to pursue a certain agenda, and he believes that these are the personnel, and this is the way he is going to go about it, it is up to president, Nana Akufo-Addo to pursue his agenda with this team, and let’s see that he does it well. We are waiting for change, we are waiting for the transformation he promised and I don’t think that waiting for it, is about now,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid, has rejected claims that a large number of ministers to serve in the government will burden the state coffers.

According to him, it would rather help protect the coffers.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, he said, “…If you need more hands to ensure that we are protecting bigger money, you might do so because it’s better…We all agree that we ought to find ways of protecting the public purse and everybody agrees that in Africa the biggest problem that we face as a continent is not because we don’t have resources, often times it’s because of corruption. We lose a lot of money to corruption. And we all agree again that the biggest spot of our loss of money is through dubious procurement practices.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Nothing wrong with Nana Addo’s 110 ministers – Fritz Baffour appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He has beaten his predecessor, John Mahama, by 26 appointees. John Mahama had 84 ministers – deputies included.

This development comes after Nana Addo named 50 deputy ministers and 4 new ministers of state today [Wednesday], March 15, 2017, bringing the total to 110 ministers.

The number includes those appointed as Regional ministers, deputy regional ministers, substantive ministers and their deputies, and ministers of state at the presidency/ministry.

See the infographic below for a comparison between President Akufo-Addo and former President, John Mahama.

NB: Akufo-Addo’s ministers of state (Presidency/Ministry) number include ministers for security and parliamentary affairs.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Gov’t size: Akufo-Addo vrs. Mahama [Infographic] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This comes after the eight were approved by Parliament to occupy the various ministerial portfolios they had been nominated for by the President.

They were among the first batch of 36 nominees, who appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee between January 20 and January 24 to be vetted.

The eight are, minister-designates for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta; Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremateng; Gloria Akuffo who is headed for the office of the Attorney General and Justice ministry.

The others are, Albert Kan Dapaah, the Minister designated for National Security; Minister-designate for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul; Local Government Ministry, Hajia Alima Mahama; Shirley Ayorkor Botchway and Ambrose Derry, the minister-designates for Foreign Affairs and the Interior respectively.

The approved nominees will take the oath of office and will begin work immediately.

‘Akufo-Addo nominates ministers’

Following his inauguration as President, Nana Akufo-Addo named some 36 nominees expected to serve in his government as ministers.

Nana Addo has also upon his assumption of office, made several other appointments to change the heads of various institutions including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana National Petroleum Commission, National Communications Authority among others.

He recently named ten nominees to serve as regional ministers in his government.

Ministerial-nominee vetting continues on Monday

The Appointments Committee of Parliament earlier this week postponed the vetting of ministerial nominees to Monday, January 30, 2017.

So far, only 13 of Akufo-Addo’s 36 nominees have been vetted. Those yet to meet with the Committee for vetting include Joe Ghartey, Otiko Afisa Djaba, John Peter Amewu, Anthony Akoto Osei, Samuel Atta Kyea.

The others are Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Ignatius Baffour –Awuah Dan Kwaku Botwe, Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah.

Joseph Kofi Adda, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful and Kwasi Amoako Atta.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Akufo-Addo to swear in 8 ministers today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Making the announcement at the Flagstaff House today [Tuesday], Akufo-Addo noted that, the individuals he named were persons he trusted and was confident in their ability to help improve the various sectors in which they will be serving.

He said his government will revert to having a portfolio of a Senior Minister, as it was in the erstwhile John Kufuor Administration.

He said Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, a retired banker, engineer and former Minister of State, would occupy the portfolio of Senior Minister.

Among the changes, Akufo-Addo announced, was a merger of the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Power, to be led by Boakye Agyarko.

Find the full list below:

Senior Minister – Yaw Osafo-Maafo

National Security Minister – Albert Kan Dapaah

Minister of Trade and Industry – Alan Kyeremanten

Minister of Finance – Ken Ofori-Atta

Minister of Agriculture – Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto

Minister of Energy – Dr. Boakye Agyarko

Minister of Defence – Dominic Nitiwul

Minister of Interior – Ambrose Dery

Minister of Foreign Affairs – Shirley Ayorkor Botchway

Attorney General  – Gloria Akuffo

Minister of Local Government – Hajia Alima Mahama

Minister of Education – Matthew Opoku Prempeh

Minister of Health – Kwaku Agyemang-Manu

Akufo-Addo noted that, on Wednesday and Thursday, he will announce more names of individuals who will serve in his government.

The Ministers-designate named by the President will vetted and confirmed to serve in their respective offices as Ministers, if they are found qualified by the vetting committee of Parliament.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has urged parliament to effectively scrutinize all his appointees and not “rubber stamp” them in “wholesale” as qualified.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post List of 1st batch of Nana Addo’s ministerial appointments appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.