Media personality Nana Romeo has advocated for the elimination of vice and deputy roles assigned by the government.

He argued that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's admission of limited activity due to his subordinate position, demonstrates the redundancy of such roles.

Romeo also pointed to the perceived lack of impact by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, as further justification for his stance on abolishing these positions.

He asserted that Okraku-Mantey has not met the creative arts industry's expectations and considers this a significant issue.

"A multitude of critics won't deter us from stating the facts. The current NPP administration has proven that vice and deputy roles are useless. If the vice president himself admits to lacking control and thus being ineffective, and if the Deputy Minister for Creative Arts, Okraku-Mantey, remains silent, it reinforces my belief that these positions are unnecessary.

"Whenever they're questioned, they claim powerlessness. If they reap all the benefits of their roles, why maintain them? Sometimes when confronted with an issue, Okraku-Mantey becomes irritated. It appears that the NPP government is intolerant of criticism," he expressed in Twi on UTV's United Showbiz hosted by MzGee.

Meanwhile, Okraku-Mantey has faced criticism from entertainment industry stakeholders, who have voiced their dissatisfaction with the former producer's lack of progress in developing the creative arts sector. Celebrities, including Hammer of The Last Two Music Group and Shatta Wale, have all criticised Okraku-Mantey.

Bawumia’s ‘driver, mate’ analogy

Dr Bawumia during his first major speech as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which was to outline his vision for Ghana at the UPSA auditorium in Accra on February 7, 2024, reiterated his claim that his role in the government is just like that of “driver’s mate".

He stressed that despite being driver's mate, "if, by the Grace of God, you make me President, I will be in the driver's seat with constitutionally mandated authority to pursue my vision and my priorities."

Some argued that he decided to opt for that approach in his bid to exclude himself from what they described as the "poor performance" of the ruling government.

Watch the video below:

Vice President and Deputy Minister for Creative Arts Positions must be scrapped under the NPP - Nana Romeo #UnitedShowbiz pic.twitter.com/q6Ty9y94Ru

— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) July 1, 2024