Mills’ Deadly Trio

*Nominee s for A-G, Security Coordinator and SFO Boss send shivers down as Kwabena Dufuor heads for Finance Ministry

WHAT WILL THE Mills Government look like? Will his team play to his promise not to seek revenge while not reneging on demands of accountability from the Kufuor administration? How will he meet the expectations of hawks within his party who demand their pounds of flesh over alleged wrongs done to them without letting go his own desire to leave a better legacy in the minds of Ghanaians.

These are some of the questions bothering the minds of many waiting to find out what the Mills Cabinet looks like.

Snippets of information picked by the Gye Nyame Concord suggests that this is why there is mixed feeling over the ministerial list the President started drawing down last week, with the most worrying area being National Security and Attorney General.

Within opposition circles, the President’s selection of former 64 Battalion Commander Larry Gbevlo-Lartey as National Security Commander and last week’s announcement of Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu as designate Minister for Justice and Attorney General has sent tongues wagging as to what the agenda really is.

What is the deadly combination of efficiency and ultimate loyalty to the former first family meant for is how an opposition activist put it, wondering whether the individuals slated for the two jobs would be capable of performing their functions as ultimate professionals while withstanding pressures to engage in revengeful vendettas.

Gbevlo-Lartey in particular was a victim of questionable allegations which saw him being axed out of the army. Now he’s back with his former unit members who left the Armed Forces as Head of Ghana’s intelligence gathering machine.

Mrs. Mould Iddrisu, wife of Ghana’s longest serving Defence Minister, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, is one of the finest and articulate legal brains. She is a gender advocate and close confidante of the Rawlingses, who backed her unsuccessful bid to supplant the current Veep, John Mahama, as Mills’ running mate for the last elections.

Worries that they may either embark on revenge missions or act at the behest of the Rawlingses are, however, set to go higher, with the yet-to-be-announced designation of the jovial but serious Robert Joseph (ROJO) Mettle-Nunoo as the boss of the State’s major economic and commercial investigative body, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

CONCORD has gathered ROJO is set to take charge at the SFO, which has in previous times been the key institution of state used in probing government officials. He himself nearly had a run-in with the institution two years ago.

Mettle Nunoo is an easy going character with a funny but serious outlook on life and has remained one of the hardworking officials of the NDC, defending it on air and on various platforms over the past years. He has also been a constant feature as an NDC rep in the Electoral Commission’s Strong Room in the two previous elections.

Sources say he is also a close Mills confidante.

Sources say the President has also picked former Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Kwabena Duffuor, as his Minister of Finance.

Duffuor is a Nkrumahist and a professional banker with interest in various businesses, including the Heritage newspaper. He is currently a member of the caretaker team heading the Finance Ministry.

Overall, many Ghanaians have suggested that the ministerial list is ok, with some analysts suggesting that the President is striving to satisfy many group within his government at the same time.

Significantly, a number of former ministers have reportedly opted to sit out of Mills’ administration. Others, including the former Youth and Sports Minister E. T Mensah, who initially had his eyes on the Local Government Ministry may, however, pick other jobs.

So could Dr Ekwow Spio- Garbrah and Dr Tony Aidoo, who are said to both have their eyes on the Foreign Affairs portfolio.

Among the list of minister-designates are Hon Mike Hammah (MP for Effutu): Ministry of Transport: Mr. Alex Tetteh-Enyo (MP for Ada and former Director General of the Ghana Education Service), Ministry of Education: Ms Akua Sena Dansua (MP for North Dayi), Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs: Mrs. Juliana Azumah Mensah (MP for Ho East), Ministry of Tourism: Mr. Harruna Iddrisu (MP for Tamale South), Ministry of Communications: Collins Dauda (NDC parliamentary candidate for Asutifi South), Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

Others are Ms Hannah Tetteh (a lawyer and spokesperson of the Government Transition team): Ministry of Trade and Industry: Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei (former Director of Power, Ministry of Mines and Energy) Ministry of Energy: Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu (Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, and former Chief State Attorney and Copyright Administrator), Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General and Ms. Shirley Ayittey (an aide to the former first Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Managing Director for Caridem Development Company Limited), Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.