Many in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party and government who are not very much enthused with President John Dramani Mahama’s style of appointments so far would have to brace themselves up for the worst as more shocking sides of the president are yet to be revealed in the coming days as he unveils his vision of slimmest but most efficient government in the history of the Fourth Republic.
Intelligence picked up by the Al-Hajj suggests that scores of NDC top functionaries including some key national executive members are furious with certain appointments made by the president so far.
Senior members of some power blocs within the party who have firm belief that they are stakeholders in the party and have played various important roles in the success of the party in the just ended elections feel betrayed and sidelined by President Mahama in the selection process of the Ministers.
“Without our endorsement of the President and active roles across the regions during the elections, there is no way the President would have emerged victorious, so is baffling the way things are going now”, one senior party member told the Al-Hajj.
Some senior members of the NDC feel threatened of losing their positions and others are whining about their inability to have their preferred choices nominated into various positions.
“We are all angry with the way things are going and I can say there is very little or no consultation in the appointment process and that is very disappointing considering the work we all did to bring this President to office,” one leading national figure within the party told this paper.
One such high ranking official of the party, who himself, is not expecting any position and whose identity for now won’t be disclosed was heard furiously telling a colleague “John does not listen to us anymore.” This was in apparent reference to the President overlooking Mr. P.V. Obeng for the position of Chief of Staff.
However, The Al-Hajj can confirm that President John Mahama as part of his effort at forming a modern government intends to put together between fifty to sixty ministers, a clear departure from the old ways of doing things in the Fourth Republic.
President Mahama has told associates before and during the December elections that he would make history by forming the slimmest government in the Fourth Republic.
He was said to have argued that efficiency is what matters most in modern government and not the size of government and so he is going to form a small but very efficient government to run the affairs of the state and deliver the Better Ghana Agenda President Mills has promised to this nation.
Our sources close to the Presidency indicate that President Mahama will demand of all Ministers and Deputy Ministers he appoints to justify their inclusion in government or give way.
Accordingly, “he will require efficiency and corruption-free administration and would not hesitate to fire any of his appointees who flout any of the above principles.”
Another policy departure in the Mahama administration is the preponderance of deputy ministers in the administration.
He is said to have declared that the phenomenon of ministers of state in some ministries which already have substantive ministers would not be countenance in his administration.
Again, not many Ministries would have two Deputy Ministers or more as was the case in the past.
The previous Jerry Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and Atta Mills’ regimes operated with over eighty ministers which were widely criticized.