Political analyst Mr. Emmanuel Nti has underscored the need for the discussions around the appointments of ministers to be premised on competencies, qualities, and the ability to deliver instead of representation.
He believes the debate around appointments should not be reduced to just representation or gender parity.
He said it would be unfortunate for anyone to suggest that more women are appointed for the sake of fair representation, but the most important thing to do is focus on those who can deliver, whether a man or woman.
Mr. Nti was reacting to the list of cabinet ministers appointed by President John Dramani Mahama and the criticism that had followed.
During the 2024 campaign, the president promised to allocate 30% of his cabinet minister slots to women; however, the list released had only two women with 17 men representing just 10%.
The president has been heavily criticised for failing to deliver on this promise, especially when the Affirmative Action Bill has become law.
But reacting to the concerns raised, Mr. Nti maintained that ‘’I think the figure is still significant; however, moving forward, they can consider putting a lot of women. But the fact that he is forming a cabinet or appointing ministers does not mean he should appoint women at all costs. If you appoint the women and they are unable to perform, what will be the outcome? We need results and not representation. As a country called Ghana, we need results and not representation. If we have all male ministers and they perform and transform the economy and Ghanaians get relief from the economic challenges, that is perfect. If we also get all female appointees and ministers and they perform to help alleviate the plight of Ghanaians, that will also be perfect.
I think the debate should not even be centred on gender, but it should rather be centred on competencies. What are their competency levels? So if we have only two women who are equally competent as the men and we can get the results, why are we worrying about ourselves as a country? We are living in a country where competition between men and women has been prioritised instead of placing value on solving problems. So assuming we flip the coin and he appointed 17 women and only two men to the cabinet and they mess up, what would happen? I don’t want to go into this gender argument. I want to go into the people being able to solve our problems, which should be our focus. We need to solve problems, and we don’t need just representation.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
