Make a difference, despite short period – President charges ministers, deputies

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday swore into office what could best be described as the last batch of ministers, with a charge on them to make a difference despite the short period left.

“I am confident that there is enough time for you to make a difference and significant contribution. Indeed, anyone who has something to prove can make a point within a short period and I am sure that your various competencies, experiences and talents make this distinctly possible,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo administered the oaths of Allegiance, Office and Secrecy and presented each of the 10 ministers of state and 14 deputy ministers with an instrument of office, in the red, gold and green national colours.

He reminded them that the success of their work would lead to the successes of his government, that of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the parliamentary candidates in the 2024 polls.

The President said the quality of integrity of their work and in these last few months was extremely important and that they should bear in mind the solemn commitment of the government to collectively serve Ghanaians with honesty and competence.

Assets
President Akufo-Addo reminded the ministers of their constitutional mandate to declare their assets promptly and remain above reproach in their public dealings, saying their collective conduct in the executive would determine to a large extent the fate and fortunes of the party.

The President advised the newly sworn-in appointees not to forget that the political atmosphere was characterised by some unhealthy comments and that even their most innocent actions would be stigmatised and given the most sinister of motives.

“Ignore the fabricators and their fabrications and the naysayers. Remain resolute and focus on our collective objective to serve the Ghanaian people to the best of our abilities and leave the rest to God, to history and to the judgement of the good people of Ghana,” President Akufo-Addo added.

Caution
The deputy ministers should at all times exhibit allegiance to their ministers because they were appointed by the President to assist the ministers in carrying out their duties, therefore, their primary duty was to support their minister, he said.

The President cautioned that any deputy minister who thought the road to advancement lay in their ability to undermine their ministers would be sadly mistaken, because they would not profit from such conducts.

President Akufo-Addo said it was a pity that the Minority Caucus of Parliament that had participated in all the vetting processes boycotted the final approval through a
walkout of Parliament.

“We thank God that the walkout was not fatal to the vote of approval. We learn every time more and more about the vagaries of parliamentary life,” he said. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, expressed their gratitude to the President for the appointment and assured him that they would work hard with integerity to ensure that the President Akufo-Addo government became the best administration.

The ministers are Andrew Egyapa Mercer for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture; Lydia Seyram Alhassan for the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources; Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah for the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development and Ophelia Mensah Hayford for the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.

The rest are Darkoa Newman for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye for the Ministry of Health; Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover for the Greater Accra Region; Fatimatu Abubakar for the Ministry of Information, and Daniel Machator for the Oti Region, with Abena Osei-Asare as the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance.

Deputy ministers
The deputy ministers are Dr Benjamin Sekyere Yeboah for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; Sylvester Tetteh for the Ministry of Information; Charles Acheampong for the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation; Adelaide Ntim for the Ministry of Health, and Vincent Ekow Assafuah for the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.

The others are John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie and Collins Adomako Mensah, both for the Ministry of Energy; Professor Kingsley Nyarko for the Ministry of Education; Dr Festus Awuah Kwofie for the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations; Akwasi Konadu for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources; Musah Abdul Aziz Ayaba for the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Dr Alexander Ampaabeng for the Ministry of Finance.

Source: graphic online