Opinions of Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Columnist: Kakraba Cromwell

President's new ministries and ministers: Welcome to business unusual

President Akufo-Addo and his new ministers designate President Akufo-Addo and his new ministers designate

In the past couple of weeks, President Nana Akufo Addo has been rolling out his new ministers designate and the variously proposed ministries they will be responsible for.

It is intriguing, to say the least; reading about the newly created ministries and the intended functions and role that these are supposed to play in our socio-economic development as a country.

Before the President finished pronouncing the last word in his presentation, critics and some self-acclaimed political experts have started criticizing the ideas being put forward and or the respective ministers appointed to execute the agenda.

Fellow Ghanaians, this president is not about to conduct business as we have grown accustomed to. No, it will not be business as usual. Our country has tried the old worn out path of the same old ministries doing government business the exact same old ways and not yielding any meaningful results.

The carving out of some established ministries; sister ministries, aimed at reducing the work load on the old ones and ensuring that the new ones created are able to deliver valued quality services that go to the core of the challenges confronting our country , is borne out of years of meticulous studies conducted by Nana and his team of advisors . President Nana Addo is arguably the most travelled candidate to assume the reins of power in our country's history.

From the days of running Prof. Adu Boahene's campaign through to The Alliance For Change demonstrations to his own presidential tours, Nana has interacted with a vast majority of chiefs, politicians, opinion leaders, public figures and the general public.

He has listened to sound advice and various requests from these interactions. These have been well documented and analyzed thoroughly. In between the electoral cycle for the past quarter of a century, The president and his team of expects, have taken the information gathered, and tried to tend it into policy and how to effectively implement these policies, should he be given the opportunity by the electorate to be president.

Every unsuccessful bid for the presidency by now, President Nana Addo, has been a blessing to our country. It offered the opportunity of another cycle of interaction with the electorate and also fine-tuning his plans after painstaking taking a fresh look at the needs and demands of our country.

As a result of the extensive work that has gone into these programs , the president has formulated well thought out policies, but not just ad hock decisions. Plans and policies that in the long run will help turn the country around for a positive change.

Secondly, and more importantly the President intends to maximise the use of the human and material resource at our disposal. The President believes in assembling a 'The Black Stars ' of leadership to help him achieve his agenda of transforming the socio-economic fortunes of our country whilst giving the opportunity to the least fortunate ones amongst us to climb up the economic ladder. In short, the president wants to create an environment that helps reduce poverty and help every Ghanaian to be the best they can be. Every Ghanaian who believes in The President's dream for our country has a fair shot at being part of the dream team. This is an enormous task that requires the best talents our country has to offer in order for us to solve the challenges that confront our dear us.

The issues we face are complex. And as in the medical profession sometimes, the complexity of the problem demands we assemble a team of surgeons to undertake the operation rather than using just one specialist. It does not mean a duplication of roles but rather a meticulous approach to solving the problem; whilst making sure every possible angle is covered.

Hence the seemingly overlap of some ministries and their ministers is to ensure efficient delivery of the service that the president and his party promised the electorate. Business will be done differently but effectively.

Somethings may look unusual but there is a valid reason for the departure from the norm. The president promised change and change will be delivered through an unconventional approach how to be it constitutional and according to the rule of law.

Let us all with open minds pray for and work with our new president. May God Bless our country Ghana and our freshly mint president Nana Addo Dankwah Akofo Addo