Prime News Ghana

It's too early to call Akufo-Addo's appointments as job for the boys - SEC Boss

By Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah
President Nana Akufo-Addo
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Head of the State Enterprises Commission (SEC), Dr Kaminta Baizie has defended President Nana Akufo-Addo's nomination of 36 persons for ministerial positions in his government.

President Akufo-Addo has in the course of the week, his first in office, appointed 36 persons as ministers in his government pending parliamentary approval and created six new ministerial portfolios.

These appointments have, however, caused some stir in the public domain especially on social with many criticising the size of government as too big and drain on the public purse he had promised to protect in his inaugural speech last Saturday.

Though the President has come out to explain the ministers for the six new portfolios, Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning and Infrastructural Development, Inner City and Zongo Development, Business Development and Special Development Initiatives will be operating directly from the Office of the President, it has not stopped critics from describing his appointments as rewards for his loyalists which is usually termed as 'job for the boys' in the Ghanaian parlance.

But according to Dr Baizie, the President's appointments are reflections of the numerous campaign promises he made during campaigning and would be unfair to describe them as 'job for the boys'.

Speaking on Citi FM's Breakfast Show on Friday, he was of the opinion that the six new portfolios were essentially Ministers of State and not actual creations.

"All the past governments have had Ministers of State, the difference is that the six new people have got specific duties ", he explained, adding that, "these new Ministers of State have to channel bills through the appropriate Ministries to get to parliament".

It is therefore "too early to say that he is trying to reward people with some appointments", he added.

Citing South Africa as an example, he said they had 29 ministries including Ministries of Small Business Development and Telecoms and Postal Services.

He, however, advised that the Ministers must be given specific objectives and targets to meet and if they failed to perform, the President should not be afraid to fire them.