A stalwart of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, has joined the chorus of persons saying President Akufo-Addo’s ministerial reshuffle will not make any impact on his government.
The former Minister for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff under the erstwhile John Kufuor administration says the timing of the exercise is problematic considering the number of months left for the general elections.
Despite admitting that the prerogative to make any changes rests with the President per his analysis of the performance of his appointees, Mr. Mpaini says the timing raises a lot of questions about the effectiveness of the reshuffle.
“I don’t have a reaction to the ministerial reshuffle because it is the President’s prerogative. He works with the Ministers and the deputy ministers and he should be able to determine who is working well or otherwise.
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“But I think that eight months to an election will not have any effect on the direction of government. So I think the timing is the problem, otherwise, it is his prerogative to do a reshuffle as he sees fit,” he said on Accra-based JoyNews.
He questioned how the newly appointed ministers are going to adapt to the complexities of their newly assigned offices, to effect the needed changes for the government.
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“Some of these appointees are completely new. How are they going to learn and know what goes on in the ministries to enable them to direct the ministries as expected of them?” he questioned.
“So what do you want to achieve? It is too close to the election, and I don’t believe they can effect any massive change,” he expressed.
The former Chief of Staff is the latest to critique the timing of the reshuffle saying it is too close to the elections.
On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, President Akufo-Addo made his first significant ministerial reshuffle after assuming power in 2017.
The changes affected 12 ministers, comprising 10 cabinet ministers and two regional ministers, including Finance and Health Ministers, Ken Ofori-Atta and Kwaku Agyeman Manu.
By Felix Anim-Appau