President John Dramani Mahama has admitted to the difficulty of forming a streamlined government while dealing with an overwhelming number of applications for ministerial roles.
Speaking at the Presidential Dinner in Accra on Wednesday, January 8, he emphasized the need to assemble a strong team capable of meeting the expectations of Ghanaians.
“I have hit the ground running, I had several meetings with all our key, multilateral and bilateral partners to try to see how we can kick start things to make the lives of our people better, to look at issues to do with the economy and all that. And so I expect that all of us who would have a role to play would also be the same” Mahama said.
The President acknowledged the complexity of fulfilling his pledge to limit ministerial appointments to 60 while managing the sheer number of resumes received.
“You wouldn’t want to be in my shoes when you’ve promised to appoint only 60 ministers, yet thousands of people are sending in their CVs. Then maybe some people will be disappointed,” he said.
Despite these hurdles, Mahama assured Ghanaians that success lies in collective effort and not solely in who holds ministerial positions.
“The success of this administration will secure us another term, perhaps under a different leader. But we must get this right so that Ghanaians can continue to have confidence in us,” he added.
Mahama also underscored the importance of avoiding the errors made by the previous administration, emphasizing a commitment to listening to citizens and addressing their concerns.
“Ghanaians punished the NPP for arrogance, for incompetence, and just for not listening to what their cries and challenges were. There’s no use fighting for political power if we are coming to repeat the same mistakes that the NPP did, and so that’s why I’m a bit concerned,” he explained.
