President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged 39 Deputy Ministers of his second term administration to justify their selection to service in their various ministerial portfolios through their works.
He also asked the appointees to remain loyal to the leadership and direction of their substantive Ministers of State as required of them by the 1992 Constitution.
President Akufo-Addo advised the deputy ministers and one minister of state at Ministry of Finance Mr Charles Adu Boahen after administering the Oaths of Office, Allegiance and Secrecy to them during their swearing in ceremony at the Banquet Hall of the Jubilee House on Friday.
He entreated them to justify their selection because there are many of their peers in Parliament who have not been selected even though they have similar claims of competence.
“We have launched the 100 billion cedis Ghana Cares Obaatanpa project to respond to it (the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic), to revitalize and develop our economy. The objectives of the project demands that all of you gathered here bring your “A” game to the table to prosecute it.
Mr Martin Adjei Mensah-Korsah, Deputy Minister for Local Government 
Mrs Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister for Finance 
Ms Fatimatu Abubakar, Deputy Information Minister 
Mr Hassan Tampuli, Deputy Minister for Transport 
Mr Augustine Collins Ntim, Deputy Minister for Local Government
“Your success in this endeavour will be a consequence of three things; first, it is the spirit of loyalty you exhibit to your Ministers. Article 79, clause 1 of the Constitution of the Republic provides that a Deputy Minister is appointed by the President in consultation with the Minister and with the prior approval of Parliament to assist the Minister in the performance of his or her functions.
“Your basic responsibility is thus, to assist your Minister in the performance of his or her functions. Loyalty to the Minister is a fundamental premise for the success of your work. I will not countenance any acts of disloyalty or subversion of your Minister, for I will take such acts as disloyalty to me personally and by inference, disloyalty to the state and party,” President Akufo-Addo told the deputy ministers.
Integrity
President Akufo-Addo noted that the most critical thing that has to guide the Deputy Ministers as they go into public life, is their individual integrity and the collective integrity of the government as a whole.
He urged them to be guided by the fact that they are providing public service and not to engage in private gain.
“You have to remember at all times, the solemn commitment we in the NPP have made collectively and individually, jointly and severally, to serve the Ghanaian people honestly and competently. We are called to these public appointments to provide public service not to promote our person gains.
“An opportunity is being offered you to serve your country in an elevated capacity. Seize the opportunity with humility but with determination and perform guided always by the Almighty God,” President Akufo-Addo told the deputy ministers.
Deputy Ministers’ response
In a response on behalf of her colleagues, the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, assured President Akufo-Addo that they will engage, consult and collaborate with all stakeholders in the governance structure in their bid to assist their Ministers to deliver the mandate bestowed on the respective ministries.
“We are privileged and grateful to be given these valuable opportunities to serve the country in this capacity and we will give it our utmost best to justify these appointments,” Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei reiterated.
The appointees
The Deputy Ministers included Messrs. O. B. Amoah, Augustine Collins Ntim and Martin Adjei Mensah-Korsah, all three going to the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization & Rural Development with Mr Hassan Tampuli and Ms Fatimatu Abubakar going to the Ministries of Transport and Information respectively.
Messrs. Thomas Mbomba and Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration with the Office of Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has Alfred Tuah-Yeboah and Ms. Diana Asonaba Dapaah as Deputy Ministers.
Those who move to the Ministry of Finance are Mrs Abena Osei-Asare and John Ampontuah Kumah with Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, Michael Okyere Baafi and Mr. Herbert Krapa going to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, William Owuraku Aidoo and Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer would serve as Deputies at the Ministry of Energy.
The rest of the deputy ministers are going to the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Education, Health, Lands and Natural Resources, Roads and Highways, Defence, the Interior, Communications and Digitalisation, Works and Housing, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Railways Development.
The rest Ministries of Sanitation and Water Resources; Tourism, Arts and Culture; Gender, Children and Social Protection; Employment and Labour Relations; and Youth and Sports.
