President John Mahama sees no urgency in appointing a substantive Defence Minister because the ministry is functioning effectively without one, government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, the Abura Asebu-Kwamankese MP defended the continued vacancy at the ministry after host Evans Mensah pointed out that the President had earlier indicated a Defence Minister would be named after Christmas.

“Any day that the President communicates to me that he has appointed a Defence Minister, I’ll make it known to you,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.

He insisted the absence of a substantive minister has not affected Ghana’s security architecture.

“But I think that by and large, we have held the fort, and the government has functioned effectively. There’s not been any lapses, as far as I know, in terms of Ghana’s defence architecture,” he stated.

According to him, conditions within the sector are rather improving.

“Indeed, things appear to be improving on that front because they are acquiring additional firepower in terms of their equipment and retooling, and all that is going quite well,” he said.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu also suggested that the current arrangement may even be helping operations because the Finance Minister is acting at the Defence Ministry.

“Perhaps it helps that the man who has to bankroll it is also the one who is in the acting capacity at the Defence Ministry. So everything is on track,” he said.

“If there is any lapse, that’s not because there is not a standalone Defence Minister at any time.”

When pressed by Evans Mensah on why President Mahama had not yet nominated someone, despite the situation being unprecedented since the passing of Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Mr Kwakye Ofosu maintained that the decision rests solely with the President.

“As I’ve indicated, it is the President’s prerogative to appoint ministers, and once he deems it necessary to do so at any moment, he will communicate it to me, and I will communicate it to you,” he said.

He again stressed that the ministry remains stable under the current arrangement.

“I want to stress that the Defence Ministry continues to be in safe hands and it continues to be in experienced hands, and it is running smoothly,” he noted.

He said recent efforts to acquire equipment and improve operational readiness show that the ministry is functioning properly.

“Their fortunes have even begun to improve over the last few months, because they are acquiring equipment that is necessary to keep them up to speed in terms of the operational readiness and the ability to defend our territorial integrity,” he said.

“So all is well on that front, and as of when the President deems it necessary to do so, he would do so.”