Kwame Jantuah, a member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has stated that it is not necessary for every region in Ghana to have a minister.
Speaking during the Morning Starr Weekly Review with Naa Dedei Tettey, Jantuah emphasized that appointing ministers without considering their expertise and familiarity with specific sectors hinders governance.
Jantuah argued that appointing ministers for every region may not always be necessary, especially when the appointees lack adequate knowledge or experience in the sectors they are tasked to manage.
“It is not every region that can have a minister. Okay, maybe they are saying out of the 60 [ministries] they have 16 regions, so he [the President] should put one from each. But, if I know not too much about a certain area, why should the President pick me?” Jantuah questioned.
He criticized the tendency to appoint ministers unfamiliar with their respective ministries, stating that this often results in inefficiency. “One of the challenges we have is picking some of these ministers who know nothing at all about the ministry, and they have to start from scratch. For two years, they’ll be learning,” he remarked.
However, Jantuah acknowledged and praised some current ministers for their competence and deep understanding of their portfolios. He highlighted the Agriculture Minister, the Fisheries Minister, and the Youth Minister as exemplary leaders, noting their prior experience and sharp grasp of their responsibilities.
“Thankfully, the Agriculture Minister is sharp on his stuff. Very, very impressive. The Fisheries Minister too. And the Youth Minister — the Adisco boy. He’s sharp on his work because they’ve been in those places before. If the Youth Minister hadn’t been a youth leader in the NDC, do you think he’d be able to articulate youth issues the way he does? No,” Jantuah argued.
Concluding his remarks, Jantuah emphasized the importance of appointing individuals based on merit and experience rather than political convenience or regional considerations, stating, “It is not fair and it is not right.”
