According to reports from the capital, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration will soon undergo adjustments in order to win over the NPP’s core supporters.
There is intense pressure on President Akufo-Addo to replace some under-performing ministers and other appointees, rotate the “dining chairs,” and invite new people to the table.
There is a perception that things will improve for the current administration if there is a turnover.
According to reliable insider sources, Akufo-Addo’s end of year message will include action, including a significant reorganization that will effect, among other ministries, the ministries of agriculture, trade, chieftaincy, fisheries, health, and lands and natural resources.
The most obvious ministers to be impacted, according to insiders, are those who have publicly stated their support for the current administration. Examples include the minister of trade, John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, and the minister of agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who will not be reelected.
Minister of Foreign Affairs And Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; Attorney General And Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, Minister of National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah and Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul are said to be assured of keeping their jobs in the new year Reshuffle.
The President is also expected to merge some ministries into one as part of a cost-cutting measure to save the public purse some GH¢158million in the 2023 fiscal year.
Mavis Hawa Koomson who was promoted from the Special Development Initiatives Ministry to the Fisheries sector could also be affected, the source added.
A new face is also expected to replace Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, who the source says will be reassigned from the labour front where the government expects high pressure in 2023 going into 2024.
While many people including 90 NPP MPs expect President Akufo-Addo to also name a new Finance Minister to replace Ken Ofori-Atta, the source said “the President will not touch Mr. Ofori-Atta for now” until after the entire IMF program is concluded”
“Already the President has been impressed with the record-time negotiation of the staff agreement by Ofori-Atta and his team and by April 2023, the entire deal should be settled”.
There is intense lobbying happening over who gets to keep their job and who will be sacked or reassigned as the NPP is set to announce a road map for parliamentary and Presidential primaries next year.
The source said the list is not finalized and could be subject to change right to the very minute of the announcement.
Anger with NPP General Secretary in Jubilee House
Other reports from Jubilee House suggest the President and government is displeased by recent remarks made by party General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua that seeks to pre-empt the impending reshuffle.
Mr. Kodua at a party forum days ago disclosed that the party is undertaking an assessment of all Akufo-Addo’s appointees, after which it will “force” the President to reshuffle the non-performing ones.
“The NPP worked so hard in 2016 for us to win the elections and, therefore, will also work so hard to win in 2024. But at this point, if ministers, CEOs (Chief Executive Officers), or MCEs (Municipal Chief Executives) are not reshuffled for poor performance, we will reshuffle them ourselves… the national party, I must tell you on our own, is doing an evaluation assessment of government appointees. And once we are done with the assessment evaluation, we shall discuss it with His Excellency, the President.” JFK said.
No reshuffle U-Turn
The imminent reshuffle ahead of the President’s New Year Message shows Akufo-Addo is bowing to pressure.
In August, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo observed that people who are calling for reshuffle have an agenda and said the calls mostly come from members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) who want to destabilize his government.
He also believed that some members of the NPP who need jobs are behind these calls and that he will not fall for it.
“The calls come for all kinds of reasons; NDC wanting to destabilize the government is one. There are people who are also looking for jobs.”
The President was speaking on Tamale-based North Star radio rained praises on his Ministers indicating that they are doing well.
President Akufo-Addo said “many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at.”
“If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” President Akufo-Addo added.
