President names first batch of ministers
President John Dramani Mahama has transmitted the names of the first three ministerial nominees who will help him run the affairs of the country to the Speaker of Parliament for approval by the House.
A statement issued and signed by the Spokesperson for the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, yesterday named the ministers designate as Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Minister of Finance; John
Abdulai Jinapor, Minister of Energy, and Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Attorney General and Minister for Justice.
The appointments have been made in accordance with Article 78 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
Article 78(1) states: “Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among Members of Parliament (MPs) or persons qualified to be elected as
Members of Parliament, except that the majority of ministers of state shall be appointed from among Members of Parliament.”
It is expected that the President will present the full list of other ministerial nominees to the Speaker of Parliament in the coming days as he prepares to have a full
complement of appointees to serve in his government.
Subsequently, the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has announced the ministerial appointments to the MPs on the floor of the House following a communication from the Presidency.
Mr Bagbin referred the nominees to the Appointments Committee for consideration and approval in accordance with article 78 (1) of the Constitution.
Dr Ato Forson Currently the Majority Leader in Parliament, Dr Forson is an economist, chartered accountant, and tax practitioner with extensive experience in public finance,
macroeconomics, fiscal policy, tax policy, and business management.
The five-term lawmaker holds a PhD in Finance from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Master of Science (MSc) degrees in Taxation and Economics from the University of Oxford and KNUST respectively.
He also holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Accounting from London South Bank University.
John Jinapor
Mr Jinapor, who is the MP for Yapei Kusawgu in the Savannah Region, holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Economic Policy Management, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Development Finance from the University of Ghana.
He also holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Energy Economics from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance and Financial Law from the University of London.
The statement from the Presidency described Mr Jinapor as someone who “brings a wealth of hands-on experience, competence and know-how to the energy portfolio.”
The statement added that “with his extensive qualifications, particularly in energy economics and finance, he is expected to bring much-needed dynamism and capabilities to transform the energy sector.”
Dr Dominic Ayine
Dr Ayine, who is currently the MP for Bolgatanga East, is a senior lawyer with three decades of experience in practice.
The founding partner of Ayine & Partners Law Offices previously served as the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.
He has a PhD in Law from Stanford University, a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ghana.
Dr Ayine has also lectured at the University of Ghana Law School for many years.
Reaction
The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, expressed confidence in Mr Jinapor to deliver on his mandate as Minister of Energy.
The ACEP Executive Director said the Yapei-Kusagwu MP had garnered enormous knowledge in the energy sector for roles, including being the ranking member on the
Energy Committee for eight years, which put him in a better position to deal with the challenges of the sector.
"I can say that Mr Jinapor's choice to the energy sector is great because he understands the issues, and we can only hope that he translates the knowledge of the
sector into action," Mr Boakye said in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday.
He added that given the challenges confronting the country’s energy sector, it was important for Mr Jinapor to hit the ground running after Parliament had approved his nomination.
Immediate steps
Particularly, Mr Boakye said the minister needed to take immediate steps to tackle the challenges with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
"ECG needs to be privatised and he needs to kick-start the process from day one to get it through," he stressed.
Again,he said immediate steps needed to be taken to address the challenges confronting power generation both upstream and downstream.
Mr Boakye also said the minister should take steps to address the conflict with Tullow Ghana and ENI since that would go a long way to improve the sector.
Touching on the nomination of Dr Forson as the Finance Minister, he said the nominee had in-depth knowledge of the economic sector and was likely to do well, all things being equal.
Mr Boakye said the Finance Minister was central to addressing the challenges in the energy sector since the solution to those issues was financial.
"The energy sector will succeed when there is effective collaboration between the Energy and Finance ministers, so I will want the two of them to cooperate well," he said.