Akufo-Addo responds to critics of 'elephant size' government

The President has responded to critics of his 110 ministerial appointments, justifying the move as critical to the effective execution of the dire national challenges.

Nana Akufo-Addo has parried off the public attacks on his appointments by declaring that the problems facing the country called for the more men to fix them.

“I don’t believe that my government in the Fourth Republic has big numbers in view of the swollen challenges,” he told state news agencies, Daily Graphic and Ghana Television (GTV) during an interview at the Flagstaff House on Thursday.

The President’s 54 ministerial appointments on Wednesday received what can be described as the biggest fallout since he took over the helm of governance in January this year.

The addition of the 54 ministers, including their deputies shot up the number of his appointments to a total of 110, the highest in Ghana’s history. Many Ghanaians have described the size of the new government as an elephant size government, in reference to the symbol of the President's party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP),

However, the President is quoted in the Daily Graphic as saying “if I succeed, you will soon find out that the brouhaha is nothing, compared to the success.”

Nana Akufo-Addo also explains that the problems facing the country, including the persistent decline in the agricultural sector, low growth rate, major issues of corruption and leakage of revenue, demanded a bold measure to address them.

“These are the background and the circumstances that were facing my government and the people of the Ghana, hence they need a new paradigm shift to solve the problems.

“We have a problem and what is the best way? It is better to have men and women capable of serving the nation’s interest and to work grow the economy,” he defends further.

Meanwhile, governance experts and political analysts have been calling on the President to reduce the size of this government.

The Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), for instance, has implored President Nana Akufo-Addo to downsize his government from the unprecedented 110 ministers and deputy ministers.

The think-tank in a statement Thursday said the President's action sets a "negative record for a country infamous for its oversized ministerial teams."

CDD-Ghana described the move as "obscene" because the United States, a country that is economically and financially strong has only 46 ministers. Also, India, one of the most populated countries in the world with a population of 1.3 billion, has 75 ministers.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor