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President John Dramani Mahama has constituted his Cabinet pursuant to Article 76(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
The 19-member Cabinet held its first meeting at the Presidency, in Accra yesterday, where the President received briefing on security, the economy and other spheres of the economy and policies of government.
Ministers that constitute the Cabinet are Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Finance; Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, Interior; Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health; Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Defence; Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and John Abdulai Jinapor, Energy and Green Transition.
Others minister are Haruna Iddrisu, Education; Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Trade, Agribusiness and Industry; Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Lands and Natural Resources; Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Affairs; Eric Opoku, Agriculture; and Samuel Nartey George, Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations.
The rest are Kwame Governs Agbodza, Roads and Highways; Ibrahim Mohammed Murtala, Environment, Science and Technology; Kenneth Adjei Gilbert, Works, Housing and Water Resources; Ahmed Ibrahim, Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs; Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, Gender, Children and Social Protection; Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Transport; and Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, Labour, Jobs and Employment.
Briefing the media after the meeting, Minister of State, Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the maiden meeting was fruitful.
Top on the agenda at the meeting, Mr Ofosu said were briefing on the security situation in the country, the economy and the government flagship economic revival programme, the 24-hour economy policy.
“[After the briefing] one was left with the impression that tremendous work had gone into the rollout of the 24-hour economy which aims to convert the Ghanaian economy from its present state into one that never sleeps and works around the clock,” he said.
According to Mr Ofosu, the briefing from Mr Goosie Tanoh, the presidential adviser on the 24-hour economy, left no one in doubt that the rollout of the programme was in sight.
“The President and everybody else in cabinet was highly confident that based on the roadmap that has been established, we were on course to achieving the objective of having a 24-hour economy,” he said.
On the economy, Mr Ofosu said it became apparent after the finance minister’s briefing that the situation was worse than earlier thought.
“The situation is dire and the numbers even worse than we had known in the period of the election,” he observed.
However, the President, the Minister of Finance and others invoiced in the management of the economy, Mr Ofosu said were confident that the policy prepositions and the programmes President Mahama has put on the table were sufficient to turn around the situation for the better.
The full extent of the economic mess, he said would be made known to the Ghanaian people when addresses Parliament on the State of the Nation next week.
The President’s seasonal address, he disclosed, would be followed by the national economic dialogue before the budget presentation on March 11.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
