Critics will understand size of my gov’t soon – Nana Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed the commitment of his government to bring progress and prosperity to all parts of the country, in a balanced and inclusive manner.

According to him, the decision to appoint many Ministers will be understood by critics at the right time when his current term as Head of State ends in 2021.

Swearing in his new ministerial appointees for the six new regions at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, the President said: “I’m confident that the various backgrounds and experiences of all of you will bring value to the governance of our nation and enable us to deliver on the commitments of our manifesto, the sacred compact that ties us in the New Patriotic Party to the Ghanaian people”.

“As you know there are some who say my government is too big and there are too many of you. I am a firm believer in the adage the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” he added.

In a word of caution to the New Regional Ministers spearheaded to the newly created Regions, the President said, “To the regional ministers for the newly-created regions of Ahafo, Bono East, North East, Savanna, Oti and Western North, you have an onerous responsibility to discharge. The creation of these new regions presents us with new opportunities to serve the better the needs of the people through the effective and efficient reorganisation and distribution of our public services and infrastructure.

“That is why they voted to be part of the new regions. You cannot disappoint them. At the presentation of the respective constitutional instruments to the heads of the respective delegations, I assured that the government which facilitated the creation of the regions, in accordance with the teachings of the Constitution, will help the smooth takeoff and development of each region.

“After the referenda, and prior to your appointments, I constituted the entire 67-member committee chaired by that outstanding minister for regional reorganisation and development, the hon. Dan Botwe, MP, to plan and oversee the rapid development of the region. An amount of GHS20 million has been allocated as seed capital for each of the regions to help in the establishment of the needed infrastructure for the smooth takeoff of each region.

“Your marching orders are to complement the work of the committee, work hand-in-hand with them and help accelerate the growth of your regions. You are on an exciting new journey being involved at the outset in the development of new administrative regions. You are pioneers with all its challenges and prospects. You have a chance to make history, seize it”.