Ministerial Appiontment – Its Public Service: Dan Botwe

Hon. Dan Botwe, NPP Member of Parliament for Okere has expressed deep disappointment at the Chinery-Hesse Report which recommends huge sums of monies and other benefits to Ex-Senior Political Appointees. “I am in total disagreement with the Chinery-Hesse Report. This should never have happened at all” He lamented. Making his submission on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, the Hon. MP, said, such perks, packaged as End of Service Benefits, do not send the right signals to society as they only go to create the impression that politicians aspire to public office not because of the service they desire to render to the public, but rather, for the perks that accompany such positions. In the opinion of Hon. Dan Botwe, acceptance of the benefits as recommended in the Chinery-Hesse report will only go to negate the good works that the affected politicians have rendered to mother Ghana. He therefore urged Ex-Presidents to send the right signal by coming out openly to turn down the benefits as contained in the Chinery-Hesse report. He suggested alternative arrangements such as the State providing an Ex-President with a modest office and making available to him a vehicle from the State Protocol Department as and when the need arises.

Commenting on President Mills’s latest list of ministerial nominees, Hon. Dan Botwe reminded the Ministers designate that the position they are being offered is purely service to the public and nothing else. He advised the nominees not to occupy themselves with the perks and the power that go with these positions but rather consider it an honour to be given the opportunity to serve the public to the best of their ability. “They should focus on the job of playing their role to fulfill the promises contained in their Party’s manifesto. This they should do by working closely with their Party, and Civil Servants who have a wealth of experience” he said.

Touching on the retirement of the Chief of Defense Staff and the Inspector General of Police, the Hon. MP called for the need the country to move towards maintaining heads of national security agencies, regardless of the change in Party in government, thereby de-politicizing these positions. He admitted that whilst heads of governments will prefer working with people they are comfortable with, we should strive towards making appointments to such positions non-partisan. He cited the case of the USA where the Defense Secretary Robert Gates served under former President George W. Bush, and currently underPresident Barack Obama.

Also on the panel was Kobby Acheampong, a Media Consultant and NDC member. The programme was hosted by Yaro Kasambata.

BY: EUGENE MARFO yawmafio@yahoo.com