Politics and principle in Ghana's new cabinet

Last week (10 June), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo (NADAA) named his 19 cabinet ministers (drawn from the larger list of 30 government ministers appointed at the start of the year). For the most part, NADAA’s 2021 cabinet chimes with his first term priorities. Changes where they occur are indicative of innovations in politics but not policy. Fiscal consolidation, infrastructure development and the post-covid Ghana CARES program priorities can all be seen at the table. But also party-political favourites. Concerns around representativeness expressed at the start of the year, have been reproduced.

Significance – Closed Circles

The new cabinet is composed of 19 members (out of 30 appointed ministers) aside from the president and vice president; the maximum number allowed under the constitution. The high offices of state (Justice, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Defence and Interior) are joined by expected ministers from Energy, Education, Health and Food & Agriculture. Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah is no longer in the cabinet but the inclusion of Francis Asensu Boakye at Works & Housing alongside the Tourism and Railway Development ministers mirrors stated government priorities of infrastructure development and tourism as key drivers of a post-Covid recovery. Communications and Digitisation Minister Ursula Owusu Ekuful has not been added to the cabinet despite the centrality of her brief to the economy and signature government policies. But this is not evidence of a downgrade. Neither the ministry nor Owusu-Ekuful herself were in the 2017 cabinet. Moreover, the importance of mobile payment platforms, the ongoing digitisation drive, and plans to raise revenue from the sector are likely stable features on the government agenda.

That said, there are new elements. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, who was instrumental in the appointment of Speaker Alban Bagbin at the start of the year, is now in cabinet. Indicative of his enlarged influence. Bonsu is also the majority leader in parliament and presented the 2021 budget on behalf of the then-absent finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. Fisheries & Aquaculture Development was not a cabinet position during the president’s first term but with Mavis Hawa Koomson as minister, it is this time. The decision illustrates continued support for her from the president despite recent challenges. Koomson was widely seen to have performed well during her first ministerial and cabinet appointment as the special initiatives minister before being moved to fisheries. However, her time at fisheries has not been as well regarded. There were even questions as to whether she would pass her vetting to be reappointed minister. Her nomination was protested by the Ghana Tuna Association and her eventual confirmation led to the resignation of an opposition National Democratic Party (NDC) MP from the appointments committee of parliament.

In terms of representativeness of the cabinet by gender and ethnicity, only three of the 19 cabinet members are female[1]. Similarly, only five cabinet ministers come from outside the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) strongholds – only one is from the Volta region, which is referred to as part of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)[2] ‘world bank’. This trend of regional/ethnic imbalance is mirrored across all ministerial appointments, not just those who comprise the cabinet. See – New Numbers: Ghana’s Political Algebra.

Outlook – Potential Collaboration

Pushing the government agenda through parliament in 2021 has been made a more difficult business by the 2020 election results – 137 seats held by the opposition NDC, 137 seats by the ruling NPP, and one independent, a former NPP member, who has agreed to vote alongside his political alma mater. That makes for a close-run affair. This has not led to the new modes of inter-party collaboration mooted at the start of the year[3]. Or at least, only to a limited extent e.g., via Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mensah Bonsu who has shown an ability to reach an accord with his NDC opposite number Harruna Iddrisu at crucial points.

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[1] The same as the erstwhile administration

[2] This has led to allegations in some local commentary that Voltarians are being discriminated against by the government and a secessionist movement

[3] See – Ghana’s Hung Parliament and Contested President to Be Sworn in.

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