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A Cabinet Reshuffling That Only Restacked The Deck

Reshuffling cabinets is a time honored political tradition in Ghana. Oftentimes, it is done with the expressed intention of serving notice to under performing underlings.

Great !!! Ministers who are asleep at the switch ought to be shown the exit. Last week, President Nana Akuffo Addo moved some of his ministers around, ostensibly to ensure efficiency, I would presume.

But viewed more broadly, Mr. Addo’s decision should have been delayed, if anything at all, to allow more time for further appraisal and evaluation of the ministers who had the misfortune to be hauled elsewhere. Well, Nana has acted, and we have to live with it.

However, come to think of the reshuffling, some ministers should have stayed put. Because the last time I checked, Madam Otiko Djaba, despite her earlier miscues and confrontational style, was doing a wonderful job at the ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection.

And, so was Mr. Boniface Abubakar Saddique formerly at the Inner City and Zongo Development ministry. Dr. Mustapha Hamid, the pugnacious staunch supporter of the President was named as the replacement for Boniface. Hamid in my estimation was essentially demoted.

With the economy struggling to stay above water, a change at the ministry of Finance and Economy Planning would have been appropriate and well advised. The minister in charge, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta has failed spectacularly to revive the economy. His policy prescriptions aren’t working. Ghanaians are smarting under harsh economic conditions. Jobs are scarce, few and far in between.

Mr. Ofori Atta’s performance so far is lackluster. He has not exactly inspired confidence in Ghanaians and in foreign and domestic investors. Consumer confidence is at all time low. And so is trust in the government’s ability to turn things around, economically.

Look, if any minister deserved the heave-ho, the sack, it was the President’s cousin. The fact that he is still at his post leaves much to the imagination.

All told, President Addo’s reshuffling of his cabinet wasn’t remarkable. It was instead a slap in the face of Ghanaians who expected him to reduce the number of ministers and their deputies. His bloated cabinet remains intact, adding to the ever increasing national debt. That in short, is how Nana is running the country.

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