Non-performing Ministers to be kicked out
President John Dramani Mahama has warned that non-performing ministers will be removed from office no matter their clout in government or the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
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Henceforth, he said, the continuous stay in office of ministers of state would be tied to their performance in helping to achieve his vision of propelling the country's socio-economic growth.
Consequently, the President has tasked ministers of state to sign a performance contract about their policy direction, objectives, targets and strategies for implementing government policies in line with his vision and the NDC manifesto.
A team of experts has also been constituted to monitor and assess the performance of ministers of state on a yearly basis.
A Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, who conveyed the President's sentiments to journalists at the Flagastaff House in Accra, said some ministers had already made presentation on their policy direction, targets, objectives and strategies to a panel of experts at the seat of government.
He said at some of the meetings, both President Mahama and Vice-President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah Arthur sat in to listen to the presentation.
On some occasions, it was only the Vice-President who sat in together with the team of experts.
The ministers of state who had appeared before the team of experts include the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper; the Minister of Information and Media Relations,
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Mr Mahama Ayariga; the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwesi Oppong-Fosu.
The ministers were accompanied by the heads of the various departments and agencies under their respective ministries.
Mr Murtala Muhammed said on some occasions, the panel posed questions to the ministers of state on strategic areas to seek their explanations.
He said the performance of the ministers of state would be assessed based on the targets that they had set to achieve the vision of the President.
"Assessment is not going to be about who you are but the work you do," he said.
All the ministers of state are barely in their fourth month in office having successfully gone through the vetting and approval by Parliament after their nominations.
Story by Musah Yahaya Jafaru / Daily Graphic