President John Dramani Mahama has charged his new appointees to hit the ground running because Ghanaians are tired of listening to fine talk from people in government.<\/p>\n
“Let us roll our sleeves and get down to work,” he said, emphasising that the people wanted deliverables that would make their lives better and not the mere ‘fine talk’.<\/p>\n
He was swearing in 11 new ministers and deputy ministers at the Flagstaff House on Monday.<\/p>\n
The appointees have successfully gone through parliamentary vetting following their nomination to various ministerial and deputy ministerial positions.<\/p>\n
They are Dr Kwaku Agyemang Mensah, Minister of Health; Nii Osa Mills, Lands and Natural Resources; Mr James Zunga Tingah, Upper East; Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, Central Region; and Mr Antwi Boasiako Sekyere, Eastern Region.<\/p>\n
The others are Mrs Dellah Sowah, Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection; Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, Deputy Minister of Health; and Mr Jonny Osei Kofi, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing.<\/p>\n
The rest are Mr Alex Segbefia, Deputy Minister of Defence; Mrs Mona Quartey, Deputy Minister of Finance; and Mr Ato Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Communications.<\/p>\n
Congratulations<\/b><\/p>\n
While congratulating the appointees on the opportunity they had been given to serve their nation, the President said he and all Ghanaians expected much from them.<\/p>\n
Consequently, they should support him to fulfil the promises he had made to the people.<\/p>\n
“Your attitude, plus the successes you generate, will help our government and people overcome the challenging times that we face,” he stressed.<\/p>\n
Critical work\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
He requested them to remember the rigorous vetting they went through, which was indicative of the urgent work they had to do.<\/p>\n
“Your primary focus is to serve the people who elected me as President,” he said, and added that Ghanaians had entrusted him with the responsibility of galvanising all available national resources to develop the nation.<\/p>\n
Positive work values\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Mr Mahama told the appointees that in addition to exhibiting positive work values, they should be humble and modest in all their endeavours and reduce bureaucracy, which retards progress.<\/p>\n
Relationship with civil servants\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The President reminded the appointees that the work environment in which they operated was different from that of civil servants, since civil servants retired at the age of 60, while political office holders had just four years to demonstrate their capabilities.<\/p>\n
“Civil servants are, therefore, not in as much hurry as you are. Ministers will come and go but the civil servant remains. You will, therefore, be successful only when you form a team with them and let them also respond to the same four-year clock that you are listening to,” Mr Mahama told his ministers.<\/p>\n
He asked them to be accessible to the people and protect their fundamental human rights, especially the vulnerable in society.<\/p>\n
Corruption<\/b><\/p>\n
The President said corruption should not be in the vocabulary of the appointees but that they should sacrifice for the well-being of the people.<\/p>\n
He also underscored the need for ministers to ensure that agencies under their ministries acted in line with laid-down rules and regulations.<\/p>\n
“I will hold you responsible for their acts of omission and commission,” he told the ministers.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>Response<\/b><\/p>\n
Responding on behalf of the appointees, Dr Agyemang-Mensah thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and assured him of their commitment to succeed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: Graphic Online<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President John Dramani Mahama has charged his new appointees to hit the ground running because Ghanaians are tired of listening to fine talk from people in government. “Let us roll our sleeves and get down to work,” he said, emphasising that the people wanted deliverables that would make their lives better and not the mere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":25443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[360,1776,38],"yoast_head":"\n