EDITORIAL: Ministers of State, What Are Their Roles?

WHEN THE now President, John Agyekum Kufuor was in the opposition, he seriously criticised the then government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for its large number of Ministers assisting the then President, Jerry John Rawlings to rule this country.

It was when he became the President that he realised the need for Ministers. In fact, at a press conference with Editors at the Castle, the President acknowledged his mistake of damming the ex-President for his large number of Ministers and even said there was the need for a Ministry of Aviation and that of Harbours. And these two Ministries are currently in existence.


No one could understand the new scenario in terms of ministerial appointments viz a-viz, Ministers of State. For whether it is a new page being opened by our President to reward party faithful before bowing out of office is something this paper cannot magically make a sense out of.


But while our President had echoed earlier on the need to prune down our Ministers, here he comes now appointing people to ministerial positions with titles as Ministers of State and what this paper wants to know is what type of Ministers of State he is appointing.


Does it mean that those appointed as Ministers of State are above the Deputy Ministers of those Ministries or are they at par with the substantive Ministers? Are we not creating a platform for a serious confrontation between these Ministers? And one may asked whether the Ministers of State will take orders from the substantive Ministers?


These are issues the seat of government and the Council of State should critically look into to avoid any future uproar between the Ministers.


Ministers are there to help the President in implementing policies and where there is going to be chaos, it is up to the appointing authority to define clearly the roles of those being asked to be Ministers of State and by the way, what are their roles?

The President should come out clearly now to state the roles these Ministers of State would be performing as early as possible to help nip in the bud, any rivalry that could stem out of these new appointments.


An this is where The Chronicle will like to ask the President what actually are these Ministers of State going to do" Are they at par with the substantive Ministers and how could we peg them with the Deputy Ministers?


Yes, we can create jobs for the boys and now the girls but jobs at sensitive areas should just not be created for creation sake. Ministerial


appointments are guided by the Constitution for those persons are supposed to take the oath of secrecy and that of a cabinet and it should not be a golden handshake.


Mr. President, let us know the work of these faithful and gallant members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) whom you have recognised that they could assist you to rule this country. For we on this paper do not want them to be redundant at a Ministry where there is substantive Minister and a Deputy Minister.