‘Assemble best brains for govt
The President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been urged to look beyond his own party and assemble the best of brains to form his government.
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According to the founder of Change Attitude Ghana (CAG), Mr Ernest Kwesi Boateng, Ghana’s economic fortunes, for the next four years, would only be attained if the leadership of the country would adopt an all-inclusive government.
“This is the time for our new leader and president to bring the right calibre of people and put them at their right positions of development. It doesn’t matter whether the person belongs to another party but what matters is if the person has the know-how to deliver,” he said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
CAG is a group that advocates a change in attitude of Ghanaians towards work and environment.
The next focus
Mr Boateng mentioned poor sanitation and high rate of unemployment as some of the major problems that needed urgent attention from Nana Akufo-Addo.
He said Nana Akufo-Addo had been elected to manage a country where there had been a lot of challenges in the economy, adding that without the support of the people, it would be extremely difficult for him to attain his objectives.
“I have no doubt in the President-elect’s capacity to deliver. I believe he can do all he plans to do for this nation but he needs the support of every Ghanaian,” Mr Boateng said.
He also stressed the need for Ghanaians to give the new government time to deliver on its promises, adding that “we should not begin to criticise him the very first day he is sworn in”.
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“That has been the problem with Ghana. Every new government faces the wrath of the people the very first day of office. Nana Akufo-Addo needs time to implement his policies and the people must give him that space to do so,” Mr Boateng said.
CAG role
Outlining the role CAG would play to support the new government, Mr Boateng said the institution would embark on massive sanitation campaign beginning from the Greater Accra Region.
“We have identified poor sanitation as a major issue in Ghana. What we plan to do is to start an educational campaign in every community to ensure that people change their attitude towards the environment,” he said.
Mr Boateng said over the past few months, CAG had undertaken many initiatives to ensure that Ghanaians changed their attitude towards work and the environment.
“We need to change our attitude to support the new government. We all need to show concern that Ghana is for all of us and not only for the elected government,” he added.
Prof. Adei calls
In a related development, a former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has also advised Nana Akufo-Addo to appoint more experienced hands as ministers in his government rather than exuberant youth with no experience.
He argued that the country’s current economic challenges required more experienced persons to manage it.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show last Thursday, Prof. Adei said: “I think there is plenty of room for the youth in technical work, but much of the cabinet type of level requires a lot of wisdom. I wouldn’t expect too many young people there. I’m talking about those below 45. Many of them will not be in cabinet position, but they will be in very relevant technical positions. I expect one or two of them but at this stage of Ghana’s development, I don’t expect a lot of them. They should be there as the technical advisers and not the decision makers.”
“We saw these babies with sharp teeth and other things and they nearly ruined our country and destroyed our culture with impunity and disrespect,” he added.
Prof. Adei further called on the President-elect to look beyond members of the NPP in appointing his ministers.
He believed that there were competent persons outside the NPP who could effectively serve in government.
“For certain areas, you must go out - not many of them - you need to get a top person. For instance, when we started the petroleum ministry, Armah Kofi-Buah and the rest, what did he know about petroleum? You go to a Ghanaian who is at the top and knows how to manage things for the sake of Ghana.”
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He said professionals in various fields should be appointed to serve in relevant offices in government without consideration of their political affiliation.