Former President John Dramani Mahama, who served one term in office, has officially launched his bid to return to Jubilee House, with a promise to assemble only 60 ministers and deputies.
According to Mr. Mahama, though his government would be lean, it would still be the most efficient under the 4th Republic.
“We (NDC) shall assemble and operate the leanest, but most efficient, government under the history of our Fourth Republic. We will reduce the size of government significantly, and as announced in my speech at the UPSA late last year, in a crisis situation like this, it is my belief that this country can be governed efficiently with 60 ministers and deputy ministers,” Mr. Mahama said on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Ho, Volta Region, during his presidential primary campaign launch.
His promise to operate a lean government stems from what his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had described as the elephant-sized government since 2017 when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took office.
In its first term; 2017 to 2021, the Akufo-Addo government assembled 125 ministers and deputies, a number which was reduced in 2021 to 86, for the second term.
On the contrary, former President Mahama, after winning the 2012 elections, appointed 86 ministers and deputies, and now promises 26 less.
CONSTITUTION
Though successive presidents have had a number of ministers and deputies not exceeding 90, it is not unconstitutional for a President to appoint, at least, 19 ministers and deputies.
Article 76 (1) of the 1992 Constitution says: “There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice-President, and not less than ten, and not more than nineteen, Ministers of State.”
Clause 2 of the same article also says that “the President shall appoint such number of Ministers of State as may be necessary for the efficient running of the State.”
EX-GRATIA
Mr. Mahama, during his address at Sokode, near Ho, further promised to scrap the “payment of ex-gratia to members of the executive.”
He indicated that the necessary constitutional steps to make this a reality would start in earnest in 2025. The former President also promised to persuade members of the other arms of government to accept the scrapping of the ex-gratia.
Mr. Mahama would be able to scrap the ex-gratia of the executives with ease, as the salaries of some ministers and deputies would be under his control.
Going by the vow of appointing 60 ministers and deputies on the back of the constitutional mandate to appoint a higher percentage from Parliament, Mr. Mahama may not be able to touch the emoluments of MPs who would also be Ministers only receive salaries from Parliament, unless he gets the House to be in sync with his promise.
Under Article 71 (1) the salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities and privileges available to the executive, legislature, and judiciary, “being expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall be determined by the President on the recommendations of a committee of not more than five persons appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State.”
The clause 2 says: “The salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities available, to the President, the Vice-President, the Chairman and the other members of the Council of State; Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers, being expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall be determined by Parliament on the recommendations of the committee referred to in clause (1) of this article,” with the (3) saying “for the purposes of this article, and except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, “salaries” includes allowances, facilities and privileges and retiring benefits or awards.”
The Salaries and Emoluments Committee the President would set up is given terms of reference, among others, to review the salaries and emoluments of official under the article 71.
Therefore, any percentage the committee would arrive at as salary increment would be calculated with the months the committee would decide on within the four-year term, and the amount would be paid to the outgoing Article 71 office holders as their ex-gratia.
SECOND COMING
Call it the seconding coming of a man his party confidently sees as the saviour, the electoral history of Ghana has recorded that he is vying on the back of two consecutive defeats.
After narrowing the gap with some five hundred thousand votes in 2020, out of the one million in 2016, Mr. Mahama believes he stands tall among his contenders in the primary.
Though his 2016 manifesto, Changing Lives – Transforming Ghana and the People’s Manifesto, in 2020 did not find favour with the majority of Ghanaian voters, Mahama and a section of the NDC supporters have not lost faith in the marketability of his candidacy.
Apart from Mahama, a known Economist, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, a former Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, who served under Mahama, and one Ernest Kwaku Kobeah, have all picked up nomination forms.
Concluding his massage to launch his campaign for the primary, Mr. Mahama appealed to the NDC to give him another chance to lead into the 2024 presidential elections.
“I am John Dramani Mahama, your proven servant leader. I ask you to bless me massively with your trust and your votes on May 13…” he said.
SUBTLE JABS AT OPPONENTS
The campaign launch yesterday witnessed some subtle jabs obviously directed at Mahama’s internal and external opponents.
Among all his contenders, he is the only one with experience as a Member of Parliament, Minister, Vice President, and ultimately President.
In his address at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mr. Mahama said: “At this stage, Ghana demands experience, not experiment.”
A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Prof. Joshua Alabi, while introducing Mr. Mahama in his capacity as Manager of the Mahama campaign, said the man had supervised finance ministers before, a statement which points to the Dr. Kwabena Duffour, who is the only former Finance Minister in this contest.
Further, the Dean of the Regional Chairmen Caucus of NDC, John Kwadwo Gyapong, who is the Oti Regional Chairman, in his remarks, flanked by other men, said people should go and win seats in the Ashanti Region for the NDC before coming to contest for the flagbearer slot.
This statement directly points to Dr. Kwabena Duffour and Kojo Bonsu, who are from the Ashanti Region. Meanwhile, several, if not all, the regional chairmen, including that of the Ashanti, took turns to pledge their support to the candidature of Mahama, and endorsed him as the incoming flagbearer of the NDC.
GHANA BLESSED TO HAVE MAHAMA
However, Prof Alabi, who contested Mahama in 2019 but lost, further said Ghana was blessed to have the latter.
The former University Don said Mr. Mahama had what it took to turn Ghana’s “worsening” economic situation around.
According to him, “For the past six years, the good people of this country have yearned for the return of the NDC and John Mahama,” adding, “Ghana is blessed to have John Mahama.”
Prof. Alabi said the NDC was also blessed to have John Dramani Mahama as a candidate for the 2024 Presidential Election, saying, “We are blessed again to have such a person in our party as our candidate.”
To him, the former president was a people’s candidate, stressing that come 2025, he would be the next President of Ghana.
Prof. Alabi said Mr. Mahama’s campaign would not throw away love and friendship, and that he would welcome all other candidates who would be contesting him after the elections, saying, “Every NDC member is involved in the campaign to take power from the NPP.”
He said the former President had better credentials to lead the country as he was not only a visionary, experienced, and proactive leader, but a nation builder who was a listener and a good Christian.
