President John Dramani Mahama has charged his appointees to be humble and accountable in governance, stressing that government serves at the pleasure of the people.
“We must exhibit tolerance for their views and work to meet their aspirations.
This government will not tolerate arrogance or disrespect for the people who elected us into office,” he said.
The President gave the charge at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday when he swore in the first set of six ministers for his cabinet who were approved by Parliament last Tuesday.
They include the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam in the Central Region; the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the MP for Bolgatanga East in the Upper East Region, and the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, MP for Yapei-Kasawgu in the Savannah Region.
The rest are the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South in the Northern Region; the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu in the Volta Region, and the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, the MP for Asunafo South in the Ahafo Region.
The ceremony, which was President Mahama’s first official ceremony at the Jubilee House since he took over office on January 7, began with the introduction of the ministers after which the President administered the Oath of Allegiance, the Oath of Office, and the Oath of Secrecy to them.
Mahama then presented the instruments of appointment to the six ministers, marking the beginning of their tenure in office.
The ministers then signed the Oath Book, which was sealed with the signature of the President.
The ceremony was attended by the Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah; the Senior Presidential Advisor on Governance, Dr Valerie Sawyerr, and other dignitaries.
Interest of the state
President Mahama urged the ministers to uphold the interests of the republic and promote the well-being of its people.
He emphasised the importance of working together to realise the vision of the government.
The President also reiterated his commitment to form a lean government to reduce government expenditure by sticking to his campaign promise of appointing not more than 60 ministers.
“I have presented to the Right Honourable Speaker of Parliament the names of 23 sector ministers, three ministers of state, and 16 regional ministers for the approval of Parliament.
“So far, I have named 42 ministers of state and regional ministers to begin the urgent task of resetting our dear country, Ghana, which has suffered in recent years from severe crises in many sectors,” President Mahama stated.
He added that, “As the ministers are approved by Parliament and as they are sworn in, I will proceed to name deputy ministers for some of the ministries, which will bring the total ministers to 60, as I promised the people of Ghana.”
Specific charges
President Mahama reminded the Minister of Finance that “the people of Ghana are looking up to you, Dr Forson, to reduce inflation and make life more affordable, reduce the cost of living, and they’re looking up to you to bring our national debt to sustainable levels.”
The President added that, on the economy, Ghanaians were looking forward to a stabilised currency.
“They’re looking to you to rein in the deficit so that we can achieve macroeconomic stability,” he said.
To the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the President urged him to lead a comprehensive reform of the country’s justice system to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability for all Ghanaians.
The President emphasised the need for a justice system that served the people, rather than the interests of a select few.
“Be responsible for holding people accountable and making sure that the sword of justice goes after people who have misappropriated the resources of Ghanaians,” the President urged Dr Ayine.
President Mahama tasked the Attorney-General to also lead the National Constitutional Validation Conference, which aims to amend Ghana’s Constitution and make it a living document for the future.
To the Minister of Energy, President Mahama said Ghanaians were looking for stable and efficient power supply.
“They’re looking to you to accelerate our upstream and downstream petroleum sectors in order that Ghanaians can reap the benefit of the potential that God has given us”.
“They’re also looking to you to manage the energy sector debt and be able to remove it as an albatross around the neck of our economy,” President Mahama said.
He also reminded Mr Opoku that Ghanaians were looking for food security.
“They’re looking for cheap and affordable food to fill their stomachs,” he told the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
To the Minister of Roads and Highways, President Mahama said everybody in Ghana was complaining about bad roads.
“You have the duty not only to maintain existing roads but to provide new roads for smooth transportation,” he said.
President Mahama charged the Minister of Education to work for the people of Ghana to attain quality education and to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills that they need to go into the world of work.
“One of your first responsibilities will be to superintend the National Review Conference on Education to bring stakeholders together to dialogue on how to improve our educational outcomes,” he said.
Response
Speaking on behalf of the minister, Dr Forson assured the President of the commitment of the ministers to the task given them to reset the country on the path of growth.
“We want to assure you that as we start work today, we will start the reset agenda with you for the people of Ghana,” Dr Forson said.
ORAL
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the ceremony, the Attorney-General outlined plans to introduce two significant bills to Parliament in the coming days.
The first is the Legal Education Reform Bill, which aims to revamp the legal education system in the country.
This bill, Dr Ayine said, was currently being worked on and the Office of the Attorney-General would bring it to Parliament once the Cabinet had examined and approved it.
The second bill, he mentioned, is the Public Tribunals Act, which seeks to re-establish public tribunals in the districts.
The move is expected to promote transparency and accountability in the justice delivery system and bring it closer to the people.
Dr Ayine expressed commitment to study the charges against Oliver Barker Vormawor and officials of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) charged with causing financial loss to the state to determine whether they were warranted or should be dropped.
He said a meeting with the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee had been scheduled for early next week for discussions and to receive information about the work done so far.
“I’m saying information that they have got, information is different from evidence,” he said.
