All over the world governments have deemed it appropriate to reshuffle their cabinet and Ministers especially where it is clear that some of the ministers are underperforming or not living up to the expectation of the sitting President. Therefore reshuffling should not be something alien to the Prof. Mills’ led government.
But, it is increasingly becoming obvious that President Mills is uncomfortable anytime the issue of reshuffling crops up. We agree wholeheartedly with President Mills when he asserts that he “will reshuffle at the appropriate time and not for reshuffle sake but will do that to introduce a better and more reliable team.”
This was an answer the President Mills gave to a journalist when the said journalist wanted to find out from him when he was going to reshuffle his ministers during his recent visit to Cape Coast. The very first time that TODAY and Ghanaian Observer broke the news on 15th July 2009, that President Mills will reshuffle his ministers, the President who by then was attending a Non-Align Movement (NAM) conference in far away Egypt denied this story on Accra based Joy Fm.
And since that time the President has always been quick to downplay the issue of reshuffling his ministers. In fact, the seeming fact is that it is not only people outside government who are calling on the President to effect changes in his team, but more importantly some stalwarts of his own party. We have heard the founding father of the NDC party, Mr Jerry John Rawlings, and more recently the Majority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin, both expressing the need for President Mills to reshuffle his team.
Other leading members within the NDC who have expressed similar opinions on this matter include NDC Member of Parliament-MP for Ningo-Prampram Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Hon. Enoch Tei-Mensah, among other bigwigs of the NDC.
What is so scaring about reshuffle that anytime it comes up the President himself has to wade in? It becomes even more essential when President Mills himself has admitted that some of his ministers have not performed to his expectations. So then the question we ask is — what is preventing the President from changing those ministers he admits have underperformed?
We would not begrudge the President since it is his prerogative right to reshuffle his government, which also means that no one can dictate to him. However, it is imperative that the President considers the views expressed by some of his party members and others outside his government who have genuinely stressed the need for him to reshuffle.
TODAY also believes that Mr President the time to reshuffle is now, and that the continual downplaying of the subject of reshuffle is doing more harm than good to your government. There is the clear need for the learned Professor to introduce fresh limbs and better people to deliver his “Better Ghana” agenda. Mr President, we are waiting.
