Too many dep. ministers missing in action – Prempeh

A former deputy Attorney General under ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor administration, Kwame Osei Prempeh, has said a lot of deputy ministers of the Mahama administration cannot be heard or seen to be performing their roles.

He attributed the problem of non-functioning deputy ministers to a number of reasons, which he believed, range from sabotage to incompetence.

Speaking with Accra News Tuesday February 2, 2016, Mr Osei Prempeh said: “Some ministers sabotage their deputies, refusing to allow them to attend functions. Sometimes, the fear is that some of these deputies will outshine them and take over their jobs. In some places there are even two deputies whom one never hears of.

“I don’t think there is any minister who can single-handedly do all the work at the ministry. But some of the ministers exhibit wickedness, for some it’s selfishness. Some lack self-confidence, fearing that if their deputies are delegated some duties, they would hijack their positions. So they do whatever they can to prevent them from taking up any roles".

He said the actions of such ministers create the situation where the nation fails to benefit from the services of deputy ministers who continue to draw salaries every month.

He cited an instance under the Kufuor administration when one deputy regional minister, fed up with being sidelined by his minister, threatened to beat up his immediate boss.

Mr Osei Prempeh also stated that some vice ministers who are Members of Parliament (MPs) are not only barely visible as ministers but are also rarely heard of in Parliament, asking: “So if they are not being allowed to perform functions as a minister, what about what they do in Parliament? When issues are debated In Parliament, they do not talk. Hardly do you hear the voices of such deputy ministers on the floor of the House.”

The former AG, however, noted the lack of roles of some ministers could be down to their lack of competence for the job.

“The calibre of some of the ministers also count. If the minister realises the deputy minister is not competent for the task at hand, he may not have faith in him to delegate duties.”