President John Dramani Mahama has sworn-in the first batch of six ministers of his government, with a charge to them to serve in humility and candour.
He charged them to always remember that the authority they exercised emanated from the people, hence they should serve the Ghanaian people in dignity.
The ministers who took the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy include Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Finance Minister, Mr John Abu Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, and Dr Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The rest are Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education, Mr Eric Opoku, Minister of Food and Agriculture and Mr Kwame Agbodza, Minister of Roads and Highways.
President Mahama, who presented the instrument of office to the ministers, advised them to exhibit tolerance to public demands and work to meet the aspirations of Ghanaians.
“This government will not tolerate arrogance or disrespect for the people who elected us into office,” President Mahama said.
“Modesty and prudence must be the guiding principle upon which you, myself, and our Vice President, fashion our governance.”
“The people of Ghana will hold us accountable for the trust that they have placed in our hands. It cannot be business as usual. We must be transparent and fair in all our dealings.”
Touching on the economy, he said the people of Ghana were looking up to Dr Forson to reduce inflation and make life more affordable, reduce the cost of living, and bring the national debt to sustainable levels.
“They’re looking to you to stabilise our currency, and they’re looking to you to rein in the deficit so that we can achieve macroeconomic stability,” the President said.
To Minister of Energy, Mr Jinapor, the President said Ghanaians were expecting a stable and efficient power supply.
“They’re looking to you to accelerate our upstream and downstream petroleum sectors in order that Ghanaians can reap the benefit of the potential that God has given us,” he said.
“They’re also looking to you to manage the energy sector debt and be able to remove it as an albatross around the neck of our economy.”
To Mr Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, the President said Ghanaians wanted food security, which should ensure availability and affordability of food.
To Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Minister of Roads and Highways, President Mahama noted that he probably had one of the most difficult jobs, saying: “Everybody in Ghana is complaining about bad roads”.
“You have the duty not only to maintain existing roads, but to provide new roads for smooth transportation.”
He said the education sector was one of the most difficult and complex, and so Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, was supposed to work to ensure quality education and provision of skills to youth to gain employment.
“Your first responsibilities would be to superintend the National Review Conference on Education to bring stakeholders together to dialogue on how to improve the nation’s educational outcomes,” the President said.
To Mr Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, President Mahama said he would be required to reform the nation’s justice system, to make it fair and transparent to all Ghanaians.
He would be responsible for holding people accountable and making sure that the sword of justice went after people who had misappropriated the resources of Ghanaians.
“One of the major tasks you will have to undertake is to shepherd the National Constitutional Validation Conference in order that we can begin amendments of our Constitution to make it a living document for the future,” President Mahama said.
Dr Forson, on behalf of his colleagues, expressed gratitude to the President for the honour done them.
“We want to assure you that we will serve in such a way to make you the best President in the Fourth Republic.”
In attendance was Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang.
Source: GNA
The post President swears in first batch of six ministers appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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