Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Mahama administration, Mr Emmanuel Bombande has said the position of a Deputy Minister in Ghana is equally important.
He stated that it is an important compliment to the roles of a substantive Minister.
The former Executive Director of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) said this while reacting to a comment by Vice President of Imani Africa Kofi Bentil that the position of a Deputy Minister is not needed.
In the view of Mr Bentil, the work of a deputy minister can be equally done by the Chief Director of the Ministry.
He has therefore called for the total removal of the office of the Deputy Minister.
“I am of the full View that Deputy Ministers are needless !!Chief Directors must do their work! Abolish the post,” he said in a Facebook post.
Mr Bentil, in a a sperate radio interview, also raised raised concerns against a large government size.
To him, a large government size is not the solution to the economic challenges.
he stated “If you have competent people, you don’t need that many people.”
“The largest government in the history of this country has given us the worst performance.”
“When the president set up the largest government we’ve ever had in this country, many people said this is wrong signaling. If you have competent people, you don’t need that many people. We said a lot on that issue but the president responded that they would make sure that their numbers justified themselves over time.
“Today, we have suffered the lowest rating in our economy ever. Our economy has crashed to the ground and many things have been flushed down the toilet. The largest government in the history of this country has given us the worst performance.” Kofi Bentil said.
Responding to him in a tweet, Mr Bombande said “[Kofi Bentil] has never been a Deputy Minister so he does not know why it is an important compliment to the roles of a substantive Minister.”