There's no seriousness in Mahama's appointments - Kwamena Duncan

A former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama over his appointments.

Duncan expressed his strong disapproval of the appointments made by Mahama so far, suggesting that they may lack seriousness.

Speaking on Peace FM's Kokrokoo on January 15, 2025, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leading member expressed concern over the appointments being made in smaller batches instead of all at once, suggesting that this approach may be unacceptable.

“… A certain indicator of seriousness is missing. I don’t see any seriousness in these types of appointments where they release appointments in smaller bits,” he said.

The outspoken politician recalled the tenure of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, noting that he had made nearly all of his ministerial appointments within a few months of being sworn in.

He emphasised how Akufo-Addo aimed to have his appointments approved quickly, enabling appointees to take on their roles and start their duties without delay.

“The president (Akufo-Addo) wanted us to be approved quickly for us to take charge and ensure things begin to move accordingly,” he said.

Duncan also pointed out that Akufo-Addo made his regional ministerial appointments later after the majority of his cabinet ministers had already been appointed.

“My appointment was done in February (2017) and at the time, Accra ministerial (appointments) had been dealt with, virtually done before our appointments as the regional ministers came,” he continued.

While commending Mahama for taking the initiative to make his regional appointments even though he hadn’t finished nominating his cabinet appointees, Duncan criticised him for repeating the same ‘tot-tot’ approach for his regional appointees.

He, therefore, urged Mahama to expedite the appointment process, noting the limited time of the NDC government.

“… He [Mahama] has gone to the regions, that’s not bad. It is good but even that one he is doing is a ‘tot-tot’ appointment. Even if he had been an 8-year-bound president, we would have recommended he go faster than this, let alone 4 years,” he added.

His comments come after President Mahama released his first set of regional ministerial nominees for 10 out of the 16 regions in the country.

Watch his interview below:



MAG/EK

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