ELS: MBN360
Editor of the Newscenta Newspaper, Elvis Darko, has called for technocrats and professionals with sector-specific expertise to be appointed to head Ghana’s sensitive ministries.
Darko argued that individuals appointed to lead critical state institutions must have a strong understanding of the sectors they are responsible for, particularly where their decisions could have significant implications for national security and other specialised areas of governance.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Monday, August 10, he said Ghana’s development could be undermined when people without sufficient technical knowledge are placed in charge of institutions requiring specialised expertise.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s latest Cabinet reshuffle, which saw Works, Housing, and Water Resources Minister Kenneth Gilbert Adjei reassigned to the Ministry of Defence.
Darko questioned the decision to place a civilian with limited security experience at the helm of the Defence Ministry, particularly at a time when Ghana is located within a volatile West African sub-region.
“I don’t see how somebody who knows next to nothing about security is the head of the ministry,” he said.
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According to him, Ghana has several serving and retired security professionals who possess the experience required to manage the country’s defence and security affairs.
He also raised concerns about the appointment of civilians to both ministerial and deputy ministerial positions at the Defence Ministry, arguing that this could create challenges in dealing with complex security matters.
“So I ask myself, how is this person going to understand matters of security when the heads of the various security agencies are pushing certain things?” he stated.
He argued that ministers who lack sector-specific knowledge may struggle to properly assess the advice and recommendations of professionals working under them, despite ultimately having the authority to determine which policies and recommendations are implemented.
“For me, one of the reasons I think our development is struggling is because of this kind of appointments to key institutions where the person will have final say in that institution, has no idea, next to nothing about the sector, but is the minister and is the one who will have final say on issues when it comes to the sector,” he added.
