A Political research analyst, Dr Theo Acheampong has questioned the timing of the recent cabinet reshuffle, saying it will not have any significant impact on the country's economic challenges or social issues.

He pointed out that many of the ministers who have been reshuffled are also Members of Parliament who may focus more on their seats in order not to lose at the polls.

“A lot of them will be there as ministers but with also one eye towards trying to keep or retain their parliamentary seats. So in that sense, you would have a bit of a divided attention in terms of putting your effort and commitment to the work at hand,” he said.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, February 17, Dr. Acheampong stated that the newly reshuffled cabinet cannot achieve significant progress on the economic front in the next 10 months.

He argued that the current administration had seven years to implement reforms and has not been successful, thus it is unlikely that a cabinet reshuffle will produce different results in such a short time frame.

Read also: Akufo-Addo reshuffles finally: See who is in, who is out

The research analyst stated that the ministers’ personal political interests may compete with their national responsibilities, as they may be more focused on ensuring their own re-election rather than implementing the necessary economic reforms.

“I do concede that some of them already are ministers and so they are coming into the role with some sort of experience but for many of them, it’s going to take 3 to 6 months to learn the ropes of the jobs,” Dr Acheampong said.

Background

On Wednesday, February 14, President Akufo-Addo announced a ministerial reshuffle in his government. This is the first major overhaul since assuming office in January 2017.

The president relieved the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta of his duties and kicked out Roads Minister Kwame Amoako-Atta and Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu.

Apart from removing some ministers from their posts, President Akufo-Addo reassigned others including deputy ministers and appointed new personalities to some ministries.