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This pause is strategic, allowing President Nana Akuffo-Addo and the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to undertake thorough consultations with the Majority Caucus.

The decision to temporarily halt the intended changes underscores the necessity of aligning any leadership reshuffle with the delicate legal framework of the new Standing Orders of Parliament.

The reshuffle, originally set to be unveiled on Monday, was a prominent item on the National Executive Committee and National Council meetings’ agendas at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

Sources say the current Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is poised to be succeeded by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who currently serves as the Deputy Majority Leader. While it remains uncertain if Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu will retain his ministerial role, he is anticipated to take on the responsibility of chairing the NPP’s 2024 Manifesto Committee.

In the wake of these impending changes, Frank Annoh Dompreh, the incumbent Majority Chief Whip, is rumoured to be stepping up as the new Deputy Majority Leader. This shift would open the position of Majority Chief Whip for Habib Iddrisu, who presently holds the office of the First Deputy Chief Whip.

The intended reshuffle also includes the likely appointment of either Patricia Appiagyei or Freda Prempeh as the new First Deputy Majority Chief Whip, following Lydia Seyram Alhassan’s recent nomination as Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation by President Nana Akuffo-Addo.

Additionally, the role of Second Deputy Chief Whip is expected to be filled by Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, the Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Akontombra.

However, the plan was recalibrated, removing the reshuffle from the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

“In a meeting with the President on Monday, the current Majority Leader agreed in principle to step down from his position. However, it was also decided in that meeting that, considering the new Standing Orders, the President and the party’s leadership must consult with the parliamentary caucus of the party before any proposed changes are implemented,” Citi News reported.

Sources close to the Jubilee House suggest that a meeting is being planned for either Wednesday or possibly Tuesday.

The aim of this gathering, as one source at the seat of government explains, is for President Akuffo-Addo and the NPP leadership to “discuss the proposed changes with the Majority caucus so as to ensure their support and agreement.”

This consultative requirement stems from the legal provisions underpinning Ghana’s parliamentary procedure. In particular, Order 6 of the Standing Orders of Parliament grants the Majority Caucus the power to designate the Majority Leader.

This clause underscores the importance of caucus consensus in such appointments. Interestingly, the provision does not explicitly address the appointment of the Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Chief Whip, First Deputy Majority Chief Whip, and Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip, leaving room for interpretation and party-specific procedures.

Insiders say President Akuffo-Addo’s decision to involve the caucus directly in the reshuffle process reflects a deep understanding of the legal and democratic nuances involved.

“It’s a move indicative of a broader commitment to uphold democratic principles within the party’s decision-making processes,” one source told CitiNews. “This approach not only aligns with the procedural requirements set out in the Standing Orders of Parliament but also resonates with the ethos of inclusive and lawful governance,” the source added.

Traditionally, the selection of parliamentary leadership within the NPP has been the prerogative of the party’s National Council, as outlined in Article 14(2) of the party’s Constitution.

This process was in line with Order 7 of the old Standing Orders of Parliament, which vested the authority to choose leaders for the Majority and Minority in the party leadership.

However, the recent revision of these Standing Orders has dramatically shifted this dynamic, transferring the authority to the Majority and Minority Caucuses in Parliament.

The legal framework governing this delicate process is anchored in several key provisions, encompassing the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the Standing Orders of Parliament, and the NPP Constitution. Each of these legal documents plays a pivotal role in shaping the decision-making process in this context.

One critical aspect is the supremacy of Ghana’s Constitution, as articulated in Article 1(2), which declares it the highest law of the land. Any law found inconsistent with the Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency. This principle is particularly relevant when conflicts arise between party constitutions and parliamentary procedures.

Article 11 of the 1992 Constitution, which establishes Ghana’s legal hierarchy, prioritises parliamentary enactments, placing the Standing Orders of Parliament within the nation’s legal framework. Consequently, these Orders supersede internal party regulations, such as those of the NPP.

The revised Standing Orders of Parliament, specifically Order 6, redefine the “Majority Leader” as a member designated by the Majority Caucus, thus emphasising the Caucus’s role in selecting its leader.

This contrasts with the NPP Constitution’s Article 14(2), which assigns the selection process to the National Council, leading to a potential constitutional inconsistency.

However, some lawyers say the NPP Constitution offers a solution to the apparent inconsistency through Article 10(3), which empowers the National Council to issue directives for running the party in between meetings of the annual National Delegates Conference of the party.

This suggests that while the National Council cannot directly appoint parliamentary leadership, it can influence the caucus’s decision-making process by issuing a directive.

Additionally, Article 5 of the NPP Constitution mandates members, including MPs, to adhere to party decisions, reinforcing the party’s influence over parliamentary leadership choices.

However, this route was not engaged at Monday’s meeting. Instead, the party leadership chose to put the proposed changes on hold until after the President and the party leadership met with the Majority Caucus before the close of the week.

Insiders say a long-term solution to the legal issues would require the NPP to amend Article 10 of its Constitution to align with the new Standing Orders of Parliament.

Such an amendment would streamline the process of selecting parliamentary leadership, ensuring legal conformity and party coherence.

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In his view, a lot of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members will turn down the offer when appointed to serve in any capacity.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Friday, Mr Nukpenu stated that, nobody who has the interest of Ghana at heart will be willing to be part of a government that has failed woefully.

According to him, people who will jostle for appointments will be those who want to come in and amass wealth, adding there is nothing any new appointee can do to salvage the economy.

“Who will go for this injury time appointment and be part of this failure and reckless government? No honest NPP member will except those who also want to come in and spend money,” he said.

Mr Nukpenu’s comment was in reaction to calls by NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua for the President to reshuffle his government.

According to him, the conduct of some appointees is negatively impacting the party’s popularity.

Speaking at a Thanksgiving Service held at the party headquarters, Mr. Kodua emphasized the importance of appointing new individuals to advance the NPP’s objectives.

Though Mr Nukpenu said the call is legitimate, he added, “You can’t tell me the President is not aware of what is happening in his government. It is not just about reshuffling, the entire govt need to go! Ghanaians are tired.”

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Mr Owusu-Agyemang was reacting to Pollster Ben Ephson’s suggestion that a cabinet reshuffle for President Akufo-Addo may be in the works latest by end of next week following the sudden resignation of Trades Minister, Alan Kyerematen.

“I believe the reshuffle will occur between now and Tuesday. As for the Agric Minister, even if the reshuffle does not affect him, he will have to resign by the end of the month or he will be sacked,” Mr Ephson said.

But the former Foreign Affairs Minister under the Kufuor administration in an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Friday said “the President is a very experienced politician and if he believes that reshuffling is the best way to go, he will do it.

“On the other hand, if he believes that he can have another way of doing it, well he will also do that.

“At the end of the day we trust the political sagacity of the president that he will do the right thing at the right time and so I cannot say that he should reshuffle or not reshuffle…at the appropriate time, the President will do what is necessary,” he noted.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang, while reacting to the resignation of Trades Minister Alan Kyeremanten, said he was not surprised by the decision.

“Basically, if precedence is anything to go by, then I was not surprised because I was expecting per our own rules of procedures or what we have done in the past through President Kufuor eventually some form of resignation was supposed to be taking place so I was not surprised at all.”

Mr Mahama said the President’s lack of action in that regard is making his ministers untouchable in their respective ministries. 

According to him, some ministers are creating their own kingdoms in some ministries.

“Sometimes you take decisions to move people because you don’t want them to create kingdoms in the Ministries in which they are. 

“When the staff of the ministry or the agency know that this person is untouchable, then it does not bring out the best in them…and that is what is happening today,” he said. 

Mr Mahama also added that the continuous stay of ministers in a particular office prevents them from bringing out their best.

In his view, reshuffling also brings togetherness within the government. 

“After a while, take a look at the performance of your ministers and based on their performance, you must decide to drop some people and you can also decide to shift some people to other places. 

“They may be probably good but maybe they may not be finding their feet in the ministry you sent them and so after observing them for a year or two, you see that this person will do better here because of certain qualities they have.”

The NDC’s 2020 Presidential Candidate who has also been tipped to lead the party into the 2024 Presidential Elections was speaking at Academic City University College on the topic “Taking Critical Decisions in Decisive Moments as a Leader.”

His comments come on the back of several calls on President Akufo-Addo to reshuffle his ministers.

However, the President has said he will not reshuffle for the sake of it. 

President Akufo-Addo, in rejecting the calls, said he evaluates the work of his ministers consistently.

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According to him, many of his appointees have discharged their duties excellently. 

“Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at.

“If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” he said. 

The leader should be able to reshuffle his appointees when the need be, Mr Kufuor said.

Speaking when the leadership of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) called on him, former President Kufuor said during his tenure as president, “I didn’t reshuffle just for the frequency of it. No.”

He was responding to a question on what he makes of reshuffles by presidents.

Mr Kufuor used the late Gladys Asmah as an example and said she was loyal to him [Kufuor] such that “she helped me so much when I was canvassing for president.”

“But along the way, I saw that she was not pulling the support the way I expected from the ladies, the women.

“So I said, perhaps, Mrs Asmah will be more effective going to the Fisheries [Ministry] to open the fish hub for us [government], so that is how I did the reshuffle.”

The late Gladys Asmah was Minister of Women and Children Affairs and was later reshuffled to the Fisheries Ministry by former President Kufuor during his era.

Clarifying, Mr Kufuor added, “So I didn’t reshuffle just for the frequency of it; no.”

“The president’s role is like the coach; not just a team leader.

“You have to know what your ministers are doing, whether they are being positive or whether they’re just being average when you expect more from them, and you should have the courage to say you don’t belong here, go there, or perhaps sit aside.

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“That is how I did mine and that thing should not be seasonal, it should be continuous.”

Mr. Mpiani said the reshuffling of Ministers per se may not solve the current difficulties the country is faced with.

Speaking in an interview on PM Express on Wednesday, he said the first thing we should consider is what the call for a reshuffle is meant to achieve.

“You want to reshuffle and why do you want to do that? is it because those who are in there are not doing their jobs well and therefore you want to change them or you want to do it for the sake of reshuffle?” he quizzed.

He noted if a reshuffle is undertaken just for the sake of doing so, no results will be achieved.

Mr. Mpiani was contributing to discussions on the need for a ministerial reshuffle following several calls on President Akufo-Addo to do so.

The President has however ruled out any reshuffle. According to him, there is no justification for the demand.

Speaking in an interview on North Star Radio in Tamale as part of his two-day tour of the Northern Region, the President said he is impressed with his appointees. 

“Many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at,” he said.

He also claimed that the calls for reshuffling may also come with ulterior motives.

He, therefore, stated that he won’t heed to plans of the NDC to destabilise his government.

“The calls come for all kinds of reasons; NDC wanting to destabilise the government is one. There are people who are also looking for jobs.”

Mr. Mpiani, in reaction used a scenario of a football game to elaborate his point.

“In football, the coach; selects his team, he watches them and as they play the football he decides who should be in and who should be out. If the coach believes that those who are in are doing well then it is left for the coach to allow them to stay in.”

He, however, stated that with the decision taken by the coach, “he should know the consequences of his action.

He added that “if the coach believes that the team he has is the best, who am I sitting outside to say that he hasn’t got the best team.”

According to General Mosquito, as he is popularly called, the current appointees are the best people President Akufo-Addo has and cannot think of any replacement, hence his refusal.

“Akufo-Addo’s refusal clearly shows this is the best team he has. They don’t have the men as they claim and things will therefore be worse if there is a reshuffle,” he said on Accra-based Okay FM.

President Akufo-Addo, speaking on Tamale-based North Star Radio on Monday, indicated he has no strong reasons to reshuffle his ministers.

He indicated their performance has been outstanding and in line with expectation, hence his decision despite the intense calls from a section of Ghanaians.

But to Mr Nketia, the success of every government is measured by its performance and the standard of living of its citizens.

In view of this, he bemoaned the results of the Akufo-Addo led government have been horrible if the current economic status is a reflection of their outstanding performance.

According to the New Patriotic Party stalwart, President Nana Akufo-Addo will only undertake such an exercise when the need calls for it.

“On ministerial reshuffle, it’s the prerogative of the president. He is one president who is not quick to reshuffle. But I believe, if, in his wisdom, he sees that there’s a need to reshuffle [I’m sure he will make the right decision],” he said on Accra-based Citi News.

A section of Ghanaians have been mounting pressure on the President to terminate the appointment of some ministers and re-assign others.

In their view, the Ministers have become overly comfortable in their positions that a reshuffle could shake things up.

However, Mr Otchere-Gabby stressed that in such a critical time with intense pressure, it will be imprudent for such a decision to take place.

He, therefore, believed that the President will take that decision at the appropriate time.

“Clearly, between now and 2024, the need will arise. And some may say the need is now. But I think he [Nana Akufo-Addo is a listening president]; he will listen, he will look at what he wants to do, what he’s getting from his ministers, what he’s not getting from them, and make the right decision.”

In a statement, the outfit noted some of the regional police commanders have been replaced or been moved to other duties.

The changes take immediate effect, the statement said.

Under the latest reshuffle, COP Frederick Adu-Anim is now the Director-General for the Motor, Transport and Traffic Department.

DCOP K. Boapea Otchere has taken up the role of Director-General for the Information, Communication and Technology Department.

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DCOP Owusu Donyinah is now the Director-General for Finance with DCOP Charles Domanban now the Oti Police Regional Commander.

Meanwhile, the former Director in charge of Operations at the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Dr Sayibu Gariba has taken over as the new Upper East Regional Police Commander.

He assumed office as head of the regional police command on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

DCOP Dr Gariba took over from DCOP Osei Kwaku Ampofo-Duku who went on retirement on March 5, 2021.

The service, in a statement, announced the reshuffle of 59 officers at its national headquarters, regional and sector command is to reinforce security amid the border closure.

The statement noted that effective June 18 the Head of Management Information Systems Department, DCOI Eric Afari, will move to head Bono Region as the Regional Commander.

The Ashanti Regional Commander, ACI Michael Kwadade, heads to the Operations Department at the national headquarters while the Regional Commander of Upper West, ACI Peter Yao Nkrumah will head the North East Regional Command.

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Read the full statement below:

The government was ridiculed by many after dropping a tall list of names, as many as 110, for ministerial appointments, months after taking over power from the National Democratic Congress administration in 2017.

It is however not clear if President Akufo-Addo will touch the number in his first reshuffle after one and half years in office. He once defended the widely criticised number in an interview with the state broadcaster, saying it was a “necessary investment” needed to help him govern well.

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Meanwhile, the governing New Patriotic Party’s General Secretary John Boadu calls the reshuffle, which he hinted might happen in a few days a “limited reshuffle”.

“What will be done really is not a full-scale reshuffle; it’s just a limited one. What I’m saying is what will be done will be a limited one as a result of the vacancy occurring at the Energy Ministry,” he told Johnnie Hughes on TV3’s morning magazine show, New Day.

But snippets of information gathered by 3news.com suggest that the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Joseph Kofi Adda, who was recently in the news for ‘doling out’ 30,000 cedis of his MP’s Common Fund to a church in his constituency is likely to lose his job.

Ministers likely to exit Akufo-Addo’s government include Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, who had been quiet but for a few days ago when she gained notoriety among fishers after she threatened to ban fishing for one month and the ensuing controversy.

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Also, the Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, may be affected as he is likely to be replaced with the armyworm being an albatross hanging firmly on his neck.

Packing up for a possible reassignment is the Information Minister Abdul-Hamid Mustapha.

With the dismissal of Boakye Agyarko as the Energy Minister, care-taker minister John Peter Amewu is likely to be confirmed as the substantive minister after a good fight with illegal miners at the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

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Ambrose Dery may not be kept at the Interior Ministry in Akufo-Addo’s reshuffle, same as Alan Kyerematen who is the Minister of Trade and Industry.

Otiko Afisah Djaba, Children, Gender and Social Protection may be reassigned.

Although the names of the affected ministers were sourced from a credible official at the presidency, 3news.com could not independently confirm that at the time of this publication.

According to a statement by the Inspector General of Police, IGP David Asante-Apeatu, some of the of regional police commanders have been replaced or been moved to other duties.

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The changes take immediate effect, the statement said.

The changes are published below.

• COP Mr. Isaac Ken Yeboah, Ashanti Regional Commander to Dir-Gen/Technical, National Headquarters, Accra.
• DCOP Mr. Kwasi Mensan Duku, Western Regional Commander to Ashanti Regional Commander.
• DCOP Mr. Vincent Redeemer Dedjoe, Upper East Regional Commander to Western Regional Commander.
• COP Mr. Paatrick Adusei Sarporg, Northern Regional Commander to Director-General – Legal, National Headquarters, Accra.
• DCOP Mr. Timothy Yoosa Bongah, Director/Police Intelligence and Professional Standards, National Headquarters, Accra to Northern Regional Commander
• DCOP Mr. Emmanuel Ashong Bossoh Jnr, Brong Ahafo Regional 2nd in Command to Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS), National Headquarters, Accra.
• DCOP/Mr Edward Oduro Kwateng, Upper West Regional 2nd in Command to Brong Ahafo Regional 2nd in Command.
• DCOP Mr Osei Kwaku Ampofo-Duku, National Headquarters/Accra to Upper East Regional Commander.
• DCOP Mr. Edward Tabiri, Director-General, Legal to Director-General, Police Special Operations
• Chief Superintendent Mr Felix Apedo, Nsawam District, Eastern Region to i/c Atebubu District in the Brong Ahafo Region.
• Chief Superintendent Mr Ali Damashie, Alpha SWAT, Ashanti Region to i/c Kasoa District in the Central Region.
• Chief Superintendent Mr Leonard Kwesi Abakah, Airport District, Ashanti Region to i/c Assin Fosu District in the central Region.
• Superintendent Mr Eric Asiedu Asamoah, Anyinam District, Eastern Region to i/c Airport District in the Ashanti Region.
• Superintendent Mr Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, Kasoa District, Central Region to i/c Anyinam District in the Eastern Region.
• Superintendent Mr Reinford Magnus Sam, Assin Fosu District, Central Region to i/c Kibi District in the Eastern Region.
• Superintendent Ms Marian Osei-Adu, Kibi District, Eastern Region to i/c Nsawam District in the Eastern Region.
• Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Kofi Sarkodie Addo, Crime/Nsawam District, Eastern Region to i/c Crime/Oyibi in the Ashanti Region.
• ASP Mr Sam Frimpong Manso Pipim, Crime/Oyibi District, Ashanti Region to i/c Crime/Nsawam District in the Eastern Region.