The list of 19 ministers constituting President Mills’ Cabinet is out. Though President Mills created 23 sector ministries, he is limited to only 19 cabinet ministers as stipulated in Article 76 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
Conspicuously missing in the cabinet is the Information Minister, Ms Zita Okai Kwei. Though there were media speculations that this oversight was due to her competency, it is likely that her ministry was left out to make room for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, which did not exist during the first NDC regime. Being a non-Cabinet minister suggests Ms. Zita could have problems functioning effectively from outside Cabinet. The functions of the Ministry of Information include facilitating information and feedback, co-ordination of policy; monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of programmes and activities by the Sectors Agencies.
The three other sector ministers left out of Cabinet are Tourism, Youth and Sports, and Chieftaincy. In the last NDC regime the three were similarly not cabinet ministries (see list of Cabinet Ministers below).
In Parliament, eight (8) and five (5) Members of Parliament (MPs) have been appointed to the ECOWAS and PAN African Parliaments respectively. The members are drawn from both the Majority and Minority sides of the house. The reconstitution of the two became necessary because some MPs who served on the two lost their seats while the MP of Bole-Bamboi is now the Vice President.
In other news…
The Bank of Ghana has increased the prime from 17% to 18.5% as a measure to reduce inflation. While the Private Enterprise Foundation feels the increase will increase cost of production which is already a problem for the private sector, the President of the Association of Ghana Industries feels the decision will rather stifle the growth of businesses.
As calm returns to Tamale, violence has erupted in the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region leading to the death of five including a woman. Though the Bawku conflict is between Mamprusis and Kosasis ethnic groups, the MP for Bawku feels the recent violence is political and not Tribal. But in any case, the Bawku conflict is similar to the Tamale conflict with chieftaincy undertones. The only difference is while in Tamale the dispute is within the same ethnic group, the Dagomba that of Bawku is between two ethnic groups.
The New Patriotic Party and its sympathizers have heightened their displeasure of Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affair and Regional Integration in government. While there are calls for his resignation after an Accra court dismissed his plea for damages from the Daily Guide Newspaper, the Minister feels he will only resign if found guilty of a criminal case.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has begun a post-election dialogue with its stakeholders to assess the performance of the EC. At a forum in Kumasi the EC hinted it will weed out parties that went dormant after elections.
|
S/N |
Name |
Ministry |
|
1. |
Dr. Kwabena Dufuor, |
Minister for Finance |
|
2. |
Lt. General J.H. Smith (Rtd), |
Minister for Defence |
|
3. |
Hon. Cletus Avorka, |
Minister for Interior |
|
4. |
Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, |
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration |
|
5. |
Hon. Joe Gidisu, |
Minister for Roads and Highways |
|
6. |
Hon. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, |
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development |
|
7. |
Dr. George Sepa Yankey. |
Minister for Health |
|
8. |
Mr. Kwesi Awhoi, |
Minister for Food and Agriculture |
|
9. |
Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu, |
Minister for Justice and Attorney General |
|
10. |
Hon. Alex Tettey-Enyo, |
Minister for Education |
|
11. |
Ms. Hannah Tetteh, |
Minister for Trade and Industry |
|
12. |
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, |
Minister for Communications |
|
13. |
Hon. Albert Abongo, |
Minster for Water Resources, Works and Housing |
|
14. |
Ms. Hani Sherry Ayittey, |
Minister for Environment Science and Technology |
|
15. |
Dr. Joe Oteng Adjei, |
Minster for Energy |
|
16. |
Mr. Collins Dauda, |
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources |
|
17. |
Hon. Mike Hammah, |
Minister for Transport |
|
18. |
Hon. Stephen Kwao Amoanor |
Minister for Employment and Social Welfare |
|
19. |
Hon. Akua Sena Dansua, |
Minster for Women and Children’s Affairs |