Second batch of ministers named

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced his second batch of 12 ministerial nominees.

The names have been submitted to the Speaker of Parliament for vetting and approval.

The nominees include Dr Anthony Akoto Osei for Monitoring and Evaluation; Mr Daniel Kwaku Botwe, Regional Re-organisation and Mobilisation; Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation; Mr John Peter Amewu, Lands and Natural Resources, and Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Others are Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Employment and Labour Relations; Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Transport, and Mr Joe Ghartey, Railways Development.

The rest are Mr Kwesi Amoako-Atta, Roads and Highways; Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Communication; Mr Kofi Adda, Water Resources and Sanitation, and Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, Works and Housing.

This brings to 25 the number of ministerial nominees so far released by the President.

President Akufo-Addo last Tuesday released the first batch of 13 ministerial nominees which had been submitted to Parliament.

Three new portfolios

Three of the nominees are for three new portfolios, namely, the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation, the Ministry of Regional Re-organisation and Mobilisation and the Ministry of Railways Development.

Making the announcement at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo explained that the main function of the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation would be to ensure that the work of government was moving on smoothly and efficiently in order to deliver on the mandate of the government.

“Thus that ministry will keep tabs on the various ministries of state towards ensuring that their line-up of programmes, policies and projects are on course and delivered within the stipulated completion time,” he said.

He said a number of ambitious proposals and plans had been made by his administration which required that such a ministry was created to ensure total compliance and adherence to set goals.

The Ministry of Regional Re-organisation and Mobilisation would work at bringing realisation to the proposed creation of four more regions out of existing ones.

President Akufo-Addo made reference to the campaign promise to create four more regions out of the Western, Brong Ahafo, Northern and the Volta regions.

Creating new regions

He explained that the creation of a new region was a stringent and very laborious process that required that 50 per cent of the people to be affected by the new creation voted in a referendum, with at least 80 per cent of the total valid votes endorsing the creation.

To be able to effectively manage that, he said, it was imperative to create such a ministry to ensure effective mobilisation and success of that proposal.

The Ministry of Railways Development would see to the development of an effective railway system to link the south to the north, he explained.

Rail transport

President Akufo-Addo said all over the world, rail transport played a crucial role in national mobility and development but in the case of Ghana, it was regrettable that 60 years after inheriting a railway system from the colonial masters, not much had been done to improve it.

Rather, he said, the little that was inherited had been allowed to deteriorate and that there was the need to develop the rail infrastructure to open up the country and make the carting of goods and the movement of people from the north to the south and vice versa possible and easy.

Source: Graphic