News reaching The Statesman is that a major change of guards is expected to take place at the local authority level. The speculation is that about 50 District Chief Executives and Municipal Executives will lose their jobs in the pending reshuffle. The move is designed to help sharpen government performance at the local level by removing DCEs who have either gone complacently stale or simply lost focus.

Some DCEs are accused of spending too much 'distractive' energy trying to unseat their own party"s Parliamentarians in their areas. While some are being accused of exhibiting signs of ‘unauthorised’ complicities in the flagbearership race of the New Patriotic Party, others, most of whom have been in office for a long time, are said to have lost touch and abandoned any sense of administrative urgency.

Also, The Statesman has learnt that at least five of the group of eight (G8) minister-aspirants have tendered in their resignation letters to the President at the Castle. The latest to do so, Friday night, was Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, MP, Minister for Water Resources, Works & Housing. Yet, his resignation is not expected to take effect until the deadline agreed by the G8, the party leadership and President John Agyekum Kufuor last Wednesday - July 4. Among the first to hand in their resignation letters were Papa Owusu-Ankomah, MP, Minister for Education, Science & Sports, Mike Oquaye, MP, Communications Minister, and Kwame Addo-Kufuor, MP, Defence Minister.

Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Tourism and Diasporan Relations, was at the Castle Thursday to do same. But, he is the only one whose resignation is known to have taken immediate effect in spite of the agreement that the Ministers could wait until the end of the African Union Summit.

Apart from Mr Owusu-Agyemang, members of the G8 minister-aspirants who are not expected to leave office before July 4 are Nana Akufo-Addo, the Foreign Minister, and Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, who is getting to the tail end of organising the international AGOA Forum here in Accra from July 18-19. Nana Akufo-Addo’s crucial role in the African Union Summit, which takes place from June 25 - July 3 is what informed the fixing of the resignation deadline. This was confirmed by a press statement issued by the Secretary to the President Friday night.

The Accra summit is an all-important one item agenda on the future union of Africa. President Kufuor is the current chairman of the AU. His Foreign Minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, is the Chairman of the Executive Council of the AU. Certainly, the President, the country and indeed the continent could not risk the organisation and handling of this significant event by bringing in a fresh face at this late stage. In the long run, all at the Wednesday meeting agreed that since the AU summit ends on July 3, July 4 would be a fair date to change the guards.

However, the agreed date could mean that Mr Kyerematen’s resignation taking effect two weeks before the AGOA event, which is also attracting about 38 African countries to Accra, could be problematic. Parliament rises July 27, so there is some urgency in pushing new appointees through the obligatory parliamentary vetting procedure before the three-month legislative break. The next Cabinet reshuffle, which may take place piecemeal within the next couple of weeks, is expected to bring in more of the younger generation of Parliamentarians on the Majority side.

Richard Anane, the handworking Kufuor loyalist, who resigned amid some controversy, could see a come back either at the Office of the President or in charge of one of the infrastructure portfolios.

The decision of conflict of interest by the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice against him in 2006 was set aside by a judicial review. Though CRAJ has gone ahead to file an appeal, there is a persuasive school of thought that the President is still free to re-appoint him if he so wishes. With most of the ministerial heavyweights (G8) on their way out, the return of an experienced hand like Dr Anane may be very constructive in the last 18 months of the Kufuor administration. In the last few months, Dr Anane has kept himself busy by being very instrumental in the presidential campaign of Alan Kyerematen.

Late Friday, Secretary to the President, D K Osei issued a statement which reads: "The President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, on Wednesday, 20th June met with NPP Executives and Ministers of his Cabinet who intend to stand for the flagbearer position of the Party when nominations open in September in accordance with the NPP party [sic] constitution."

The statement continues, "The meeting, chaired by the President, was aimed at ensuring effective continuity of Government’s work and programme, whilst also ensuring sufficient space for the Ministers to pursue their laudable ambitions. "After frank and open discussions, an understanding was reached that the Ministers would step aside from Government soon after the AU Summit to enable them concentrate on their individual efforts to win the party’s nomination and also enable Government continue with its work without any distraction throughout the hectic period ahead."

The statement stresses the point that, "The President, thus, accepted their offer to resign and expressed his gratitude for their immense and invaluable contribution to the development of the country during their tenure as Ministers. The Ministers in turn committed themselves to the continued success of the party and the government of President Kufuor, and promised to work hard to ensure that the NPP retained power in the next general elections," it ends. Some have been at particular pains to stress that they were not against quitting in principle since the party constitution requires that of them – but only after filing. And, the opening of that process does not start until September, after which they have two months to file their nominations. They were very simply against the impression they were having that they were being hounded out of office.

Some were bold enough to tell the gathering that the ongoing revival of the party can be attributed more to them than any special favours Government or the party can claim to have done for party rank and file at the grassroots level. There have been instances where aspirants have clashed in one constituency, with the same agenda of meeting the ten or so party executives. Through the virtually weekly routine of camps of about a dozen or so presidential hopefuls criss-crossing the country to meet party members, the spirit and sense of importance of the rank and file are generally accepted to have improved significantly over the last twelve months, especially. Some major portfolios are up for grabs. The lobbying has intensified since the weekend as it became apparent that the fate of the big eight minister-aspirants had been sealed.

The President, according to sources close to some minister-aspirants, has since that fateful Tuesday 12 June meeting met about four of them to try and convince them to abandon their presidential ambitions and remain as Ministers. But, a source close to the President’s house said "this friendly, honest and caring advice was resented by the men."

Indeed, the saying is that this highly publicised presidential ultimatum to resign has now made it more difficult for some of the G8 minister- aspirants, who were likely to withdraw from the contest, eventually.

But, as indicated above, the lobbying is on. Stephen Ntim, the former First Vice Chairperson, and a leading member of the Alan Kyerematen campaign, is known to be knocking on the doors of the Road Transport Ministry.

Maxwell Kofi Jumah, the former KMA mayor, may be one of the lucky ones, who may be up for a ministerial vetting before Parliament rises on July 27. Nana Akomea could also be a returnee but this time to replace Prof Oquaye at Communications.

The changes, we have learnt, are likely not to be exclusive to Ministers hoping to be the governing party’s flagbearer for the December 2008 elections. Some high profile Ministers are expected to be either dropped altogether or shifted to other less controversial portfolios.

There are moves to recreate the Youth and Sports Ministry, with long serving Deputy Education and Sports Minister O B Amoah in charge, and Randy Abbey of the GFA and Metro TV as his Deputy.

It could see the number of female substantive ministers increased from one to about four.

Again, some regional ministers may be called (or recalled) to the capital. Ignatius Baafuor-Awuah, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, is all but set to join President Kufuor’s cabinet. Mustapha Idris (Northern) and Nana Ato Arthur (Central) are being tipped to be called to Accra.

Albert Kan-Dapaah could see a move to what insiders call a "more challenging portfolio [at Defence or Education, as he would be among the very few weighty Ministers left ]," while Asa B could be moved to Interior.