Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has revealed intentions to close down the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, citing its apparent lack of efficacy.
Speaking at a Special Public Lecture at the Wisconsin International University College in Accra, Mahama underscored the necessity for a more robust development approach, advocating for a diversified sectoral focus if his party secures victory in the upcoming December 2024 elections.
“We will close down the Ministry of Sanitation, one, to reduce expenditure and two I don’t see any use. The country is dirtier than when there was no Ministry of Sanitation,” Mahama said. “Indeed, this country was cleaner when sanitation was under Local Government than as a standalone Ministry and we will close that Ministry and we will take the Sanitation schedule back to Local Government because we want to reduce government expenditure.”
Furthermore, Mahama has proposed merging various underperforming ministries, such as Aviation and Railways, into the Transport Ministry for enhanced efficiency and streamlined operations.
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“It is not only the Sanitation Ministry, in Transport, Aviation and Railways, we are going to close them down and send them back to the Transport Ministry. We are going to combine communications and information again. So we want to reduce the number of ministries,” he stated.
“So when we are going to change district chief executives and you have a dirty district, we’ll remove you and bring someone who can make sure that the district is clean,” he added.
The tally of ministers appointed by presidents in the Fourth Republic stands as follows: President Jerry John Rawlings appointed 82 ministers, John Agyekum Kufour followed with 88 ministers, President John Evans Atta Mills had 75 ministers, President John Mahama surpassed 90 ministers, and President Akufo-Addo reached a record 126 ministers during his first term in office.
Compared to other African counterparts such as South Africa and Senegal which maintain smaller cabinets, with fewer than 40 ministers.
