President Akufo-Addo has warmed the hearts of persons with disabilities and some advocates following his nomination of Joseph Makubu as the Oti regional minister-designate.
The President released the official list of his ministers designate on the evening of Thursday, January 21, 2021, awaiting parliamentary vetting and approval.
One of the things that stood out in the list was the inclusion of Joseph Makubu, a physically challenged man and a trained teacher.
He is reported to have been a loyal New Patriotic Party (NPP) member for many years and has served in various capacities at the regional level where he is said to be the current secretary.
It is believed that Makubu’s hard work within the party despite his disability has earned him this appointment in Akufo-Addo’s second term.
In January 2013, President John Dramani Mahama appointed Dr. Henry Seidu Daanaa, a visually impaired lawyer as the Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs of Ghana.
Mr. Akufo-Addo has promised to reduce the number of ministers in his second term from the controversial 125 to not more than 80.
He has so far released a list of 46 comprising 30 ministers of state and 16 regional ministers designate with deputies to the former yet to be announced while the latter will not have deputies at all.
Meanwhile, Professor Ransford Gyampo, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, has said that the president’s ministerial appointees is still too high for Ghana despite the reduction.
According to him, a maximum of 40 ministers should be sufficient to help run a country of Ghana’s size.
He believes some redundant ministries can be merged to be under one umbrella.
“In terms of size of government, an optimum size of 40 would have been felt by all as a drastic response. But it is rumored that the size of government in the next administration is likely to hover around 85. This to my mind is still big. President J.A. Kuffour vehemently criticized President Jerry Rawlings for appointing 82 Ministers in the lead up to the 2000 elections. But when he (Kufuor) became President, he appointed 88 ministers.
“President Atta Mills downsized the government to 75 Ministers and we still criticized him. President John Mahama increased the size of government to over 90 Ministers (including his three or five wise men) and we used this as a campaign tool against him. President Akufo Addo ballooned the size to over 120 ministers and maintained this number in spite of several calls for downsizing,” Professor Gyampo said.
Source: www.Pulse.com.gh
