...$500 from MCA is the Catalyst for Change
The Kufuor Administration, while publicly delighted with the $500 million Ghana can start drawing on July 28, from the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), is in a ?panic mode?.

According to a senior civil servant with close ties to the government, the original purpose of President Kufuor?s trip to the US, last week, was to sign for the release of the MCA fund. However, due to pressure from some officials in Washington, the meeting was used to ?advise? the Ghanaian president on some measures to be taken in order for the funds to be released.

?Kufuor did not travel all the way to Washington just to be praised and told the date when the money will be released,? the source said.

The MCA is an initiative of US President George W. Bush to reward countries which rule justly, invest in their peoples, promote private sector growth and pursue policies that reduce poverty among their citizens with increased development assistance

In spite of the praises heaped in public, specifically that President Kufuor had kept his promises to the people of Ghana to bring honesty to government and create a stable economic platform; the Kufuor administration did not pass the ?litmus test?.

The Ghana International airline (GIA) saga ? Firing of the GIA CEO ? was a huge embarrassment to Kufuor?s team in the US. It happened two days before the meeting with Bush and gave the Kufuor critics the upper hand. It proved that private sector growth was being stifled.

In the next two months, President Kufuor will have to take some drastic and painful actions, if Ghana is to receive the said amount.

?The government has been asked to fight corruption and cut down on state expenditure? said our source

?I expect a 10-20% reduction in the number of ministers. Some ministerial portfolios will be abolished, while others are likely to be absorbed by other ministries. There will be some ?dismissals?, he continued.

There were signals of a possible shake-up in Kufuor?s administration prior to the trip to the US, but the appointment of the minister of security threw most analysts off guard. Now that the push is from Washington, changes are expected sooner than later.

Below is a speculative detailed analysis of changes expected in the coming weeks, as seen by a non-government appointee working close with the government.

• The following ministries will be abolished or absorbed by other ministries: Senior Minister (J. H. Mensah), Regional Cooperation & NEPAD (Apraku), Modernization of capital city (Jake Obestsebi-Lamptey), Public Sector Reform (Kwesi Nduom), Science & Environment (Churcher) and Parliamentary Affairs (Felix Owusu-Adjapong).

• A Ministry of Commerce will be created. The ministry of Trade, Industry & Special Presidential Initiatives (Kyeremanteng), Private Sector Development (Bartels) and NEPAD (Apraku) will be absorbed by this new ministry.

• Roads Transport ministry (Anane), ministry of Ports, Harbors & Railways (Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi) and Aviation (Mpiani) will be merged to form the Transport Ministry.

• Fisheries will merge with Food & Agriculture to form Ministry of Agriculture to be headed by Quashiga.

• A ministry of natural resources will be responsible for environment, mining, land, forest. This will replace the ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines and the current environment ministry

• Communications and Technology (Dapaah) merges with Information (Botwe) to form a yet to be determined ministry.

• Tourism and Modernization of capital city will now be only known as Ministry of tourism.

• Minister of State for Tertiary Education will no longer be a ministerial position. It will be part of the education ministry.

• Most of the deputy ministers will be relived off their post. The plan is to have ONE deputy per ministry instead of the current 2-3.

• Dr Richard Anane and some ministers embroiled in corruption allegations will be relieved of their positions. This is to show the administration?s commitment to fighting corruption