President John Mahama will not be tricked into a premature ministerial reshuffle, a government statement has said.

Media reports have been rife about an impending ministerial reshuffle.

On Thursday ex-president John Rawlings told Joy News' Elton John Brobbey the ministerial reshuffle appears to be long overdue and people have "reached their saturation point".

He said a "sizeable number" of the ministerial appointees were incompetent and must be reshuffled.

Barely a day after Rawlings' comment, government has reacted to calls for a ministerial reshuffle describing it as "an elementary political tactic."

The statement signed by Information and Media Relations Minister Mahama Ayariga said the reports of the ministerial reshuffle and the supposed existence of a possible list of hands to be reshuffled are merely "designed to  stay the hand of the President assuming he plans to undertake a reshuffle, or to stampede his Excellency into carrying out a reshuffle, if  he intends otherwise."

The statement said the government will not be distracted from taking stringent steps to arrest the depreciating cedi and to stabilize the economy.

"If at anytime his Excellency the President decides to reshuffle his cabinet, his decision will neither be influenced nor clouded by such reports but will be done through sound judgment and a careful consideration of the resources at his disposal," the statement said.