CDD boss blasts Kufuor

The Chief Executive Officer Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Professor Emmanuel Gyimah Boadi has criticized President Kufuor?s failure to sack ministers whose actions have and continue to scandalize the government and ruling party.

According to the dailyExpress newspaper, although the professor did not mention any names, it was clear from his submissions that the president?s decision to keep Dr. Richard Anane whose portfolio has been changed to a difficult to understand Ministry of Transportation was surprising to him.

?I don?t want to mention any names but I think any Ghanaian knows individuals in this government who have been causing scandal upon scandal, and so I?ll have liked to see some of them go? I think you as a member of the public and just like any other Ghanaian know the kinds of people in this government who have caused scandals.? he said.

According to Professor Gyimah Boadi who is also a governance expert ?clearing of the dirt? should be an important criteria in effecting reshuffles.

He said President Kufuor?s reshuffle failed on that score arguing that there is no reason why ministers or appointees who are scandalizing the government should be kept in office.

The CDD boss said the reshuffle does not in anyway reflect an attempt to clear the administration of persons who have underperformed, have been ineffective and have scandalized the government and themselves?

?I am not too sure, what to read into the current changes. It doesn?t seem to me that at least at the popular level the ministers who have scandalized themselves and scandalized the government are the ones who are out.

I don?t see my way clear to concluding that there has been an effort to weed out those who have created unnecessary scandal.?

Dr. Richard Anane who is currently before CHRAJ defending himself against allegations of conflict of interest, corruption among others, has brought himself and government lots of bad press.

There were earlier speculations that he will lose his ministerial appointment during the reshuffle as part of the president?s commitment to clear his administration of persons whose actions have dragged the government and party in the mud.

Another minister widely believed to have caused the government bad press is Central Regional Minister Isaac Edumadze but who like Dr. Anane was re-nominated in 2005 by the president.

In his wide ranging interview on Accra-based private radio station JoyFM, Professor Gyimah Boadi conceded that the president has the right and prerogative to appoint and sack ministers, but said ?the people have a legitimate interest in who gets appointed & elected to the tax payer funded ministries.?

The university lecturer also criticized the president for failing to use an important criterion of performance in effecting the reshuffle.

?I won?t name names but I think that not all those who are gone can be accused of under performance and not all those who have been retained can be credited with performance.?

He questioned the basis for the dismissal of Yaw Osafo Maafo who was this administration?s first finance minister.

?Mr. Osafo Maafo has been effective in his various roles, and his removal is poignant. That?s at least one example I can give.

I?m not sure if all those who have remained have been effective and all those who have been sacked under performed. After all what we want is effective governance.?

Professor Gyimah Boadi also raised concerns about some of the new portfolios and the frequent change in the nomenclature of ministries.

He mentioned the creation of a Ministry of Transportation together with Aviation & Railways and argued that there was no need for the three ministries with all its costs, especially when there is an effort to streamline and reduce the number of ministers.

?I am puzzled that we still have this difficult to understand, difficult to justify division of the transport sector ministries into currently a ministry of transportation, aviation and ports & railways.

Ports & railways is still transportation, aviation is still transportation, and the transportation ministry is there. I think it is inconsistent with the effort to streamline and merge.?

On the issue of ministry names, the CDD boss said reshuffles and its attendant change in the names of ministries in a willful manner creates confusion in terms of how to maintain continuity in accountability.

He however welcomed the addition of a portfolio on Diasporean Relations and the injection of youth blood in the persons of Stephen Asamoah Boateng- Local government, rural development & Environment, Gloria Akuffo- Aviation and Joe Ghartey- Attorney General & Minister for Justice.