Gov't would not tolerate personality clash in Ministries

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday warned that government would not tolerate any clash of personalities in the performance of Ministers.

"The speculations in the press about clash of personalities in the Ministries would not be tolerated. There is one leader to every Ministry," he said.

The President was administering the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy to a Minister, three Ministers of State and two Deputy Ministers at the Castle, Osu.

They were Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Mr Edward Martey Akita, Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in charge of Fisheries and Dr Samuel Nii Ashong, Minister of State in charge of Planning at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The rest were Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Deputy Minister of Information and Mr Joseph Akudibillah, Deputy Minister of Defence.

President Kufuor said Ministries that had Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers should be aware that within them, there was only one individual at the top who is the Minister.

Referring to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, President Kufuor said it had one Minister, three Ministers of State and the two Deputies, who work up to the Minister.

"He is the mouthpiece of the entire Ministry but could delegate. Everyone should know his or her position within the team.

"If any of the Ministers of State, who cannot accept the leadership of the Minister and wants to get out, it is just fair to go about things decently through the acceptable channels.

"There should be no doubt about it at all, the speculations in the press about clash of personalities would not be tolerated."

President Kufuor said government knew of their individual competences and they had come together to form the government because they could make the winning team to move the nation forward to prosperity.

"The positive change we are talking about is definitely on course. It is coming and we make the team that would bring about the positive change and hope we would prove equal to the task".

President Kufuor said the government was perhaps the most national in composition since independence and had bounded the people of Ghana together, adding that its performance could not be quantified in monetary terms.

He said most people complained about the cost involved in maintaining many Ministers and asked: "How much does a Minister earn? How much do we expect from a Minister in managing his/her Ministry effectively and efficiently?

"This government is not large but everything we have done was with an eye to finding solutions for the society, economy. The Ministers should be seen as investments for the State because the returns from the Ministers will far outweigh whatever we spend on the Ministers."

President Kufuor said the government was not into finding jobs for the boys as some of its opponents would want the people to believe.

"That is not our way at all. It is a very serious matter governing our State. We have confidence in Ghana; we believe Ghana could do better for it than it had been done so far.

"I believe we have the team and anybody, who would put the government as it is now under scrutiny, would find that this government is very well composed for the purpose of governance."

President Kufuor, therefore, asked those who had been invited to serve in the government to accept the challenge and play their part well in whatever position they would be put.

"If you do not fit, the Team Leader would respectfully beg you to step aside. It could happen. Count yourselves as honoured to be invited to serve Ghana and play your role in a fitting manner," the President said.

President Kufuor said government was established to find solutions to the problems confronting the nation.

A government should be an effective machinery to find solutions for the people and it was of no use going out for a machine that did not produce results.

President Kufuor debunked the assertion by some people that the number of Ministers was too large and said, "from my perception, they are not appreciative of the problem".

He said government was a machine that must deliver results and be effective. Numbers should not become a critical issue provided the Ministers helped to find solutions that would make life easier for the people of Ghana.

"I will dare anybody to examine critically the number of Ministers in this government to see if there had been any wastage in terms of the number engaged in finding solutions to the problems confronting the country now."

Giving instances, President Kufuor said at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the tertiary level of education was so big and so important that there must be somebody to specialise in the Ministry with political authority to the leadership to help the Ministry to come to terms fully with finding solutions to the problems of tertiary institutions.

He said sports in Ghana was done by the youth and to offer the required pedestal for sports, then educational institutions should be used as the nursery grounds to discover and tap talents and also prepare them to become competitive in the sports arena whether internally or internationally.

"It is, therefore, logical to bring education, youth and sports together and not leave them for businessmen, exploiters and all sorts of manner of people to milk the Youth and Sports Ministry as in the past."

President Kufuor said apart from the quality and handicap of the youth, they should be in educational institutions from the early age up to about 20 years.

He said the much talked about concept of equality and opportunity for the girls' education could not materialise if an opportunity was not created and spread equally among the very young people from the pre-school, through primary, the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and the Senior Secondary School (SSS).

This is also a huge sector of education that needed special attention and required to be given a political leadership at a very high level.

President Kufuor said the transport sector that included aviation, maritime and road transport, all being important sectors, had in the past been placed under one Minister and a Deputy, adding that no matter how effective they were, they could be found wanting in managing that complex sector.

He said the government wanted to have separate sectors to work effectively and efficiently and to modernise them to have efficient rail, ports and aviation systems in current times when most of the ports were containerised and computerised.

President Kufuor referred to the Takoradi Port that had been disused for sometime now and said all these required serious political direction and investment to enable it to operate efficiently.

Alhaji Idris on behalf of his colleagues said they had accepted to work in their various capacities and gave the assurance that they would work diligently to achieve the goals and objectives set for the country.

He said they were aware of the difficulties and problems they would encounter in the discharge of their responsibilities and duties but pledged to work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them.

Alhaji Idris said they were also aware that they were part of the team and would endeavour not to let the President, government and the people of Ghana down.

Among those present was Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama.