Give rationale for 110 ministers – Government urged

The Akufo-Addo-led government must explain to Ghanaians what the nation stands to gain from the 110 ministers appointed to help the president govern the country, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, Dean of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Local Governance Studies has said.

According to him, if the benefits of appointing the unprecedented number of officials far outweigh the costs involved in catering for them, then the number will be justified.

Mr Akufo-Addo has received flak from a section of the Ghanaian public for appointing a record number of ministers. His critics, mainly from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have said the number will have a toll on the national purse.

But speaking in an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class91.3FM’s 505 programme on Thursday March 16, Dr Osae said: “If we quantify the benefits that the nation stands to derive from the activities of these government appointees and it far exceeds the amount we are spending, then it is good, but they should come out and tell us, in quantitative terms, the benefits we stand to derive from the activities of the appointees.”

Giving his impression on the overall appointments vis à vis gender balance, he said: “I think it is impressive because they promised not less than 30 per cent of female appointments and, so, if they have gone beyond the 30 percent, then it is OK. But I think they could have done better. I am rooting for 50-50, they can give us 50 percent of the appointees being women so that we can match it with the population statistics of this country. They have more appointments to make, they have the ambassadors, they also have the chief executives coming out, and so I will urge the government to work so hard to hit at least 40 per cent.”