Editorial

Minority leader wants Ministry of Re-organisaiton and Development scrapped… but Minister disagrees

The Minority in Parliament is pushing for the scrapping of the Regional Reorganisation and Development Ministry because it has outlived its usefulness.

According to Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, after successfully overseeing the creation of the six new regions and Coordinating Councils constituted, it was time the Ministry was scrapped and their shepherding reassigned to the Local Government Ministry. 

Mr Iddrisu made this call in Parliament yesterday during the approval of a 

GH¢153,260,855 budget estimate for the Ministry for its projects for the year 2020. 

The Ministry among other things is scheduled to construct three-storey Regional Coordinating Council across all the six new regions, erect administrative blocks and staff bungalows for some decentralised departments and agencies.

Other programmes for the Ministry for 2020 are the construction of six regional hospitals, bungalows for regional ministers and deputies, and facilitation of the construction of Regional Police Command administration blocks and 12 regional duty post bungalows for Regional Police Commanders. 

These duties, the Minority Leader who is the Member for the Tamale South said were misplaced. 

In his view, there was no point mandating the Regional Reorganisation Ministry to undertake such projects when the Health, Local Government and Interior Ministries were doing same in other regions. 

“Your functions are captured under the Local Government Ministry, Mr Minister. 

“You are a worthy Minister but your ministry is not worth it at this time. It must be scrapped,” he told the Minister, Dan Kwaku Botwe.

But in a response, Mr Botwe said the new regions needed to be guided to grow like the existing ones. 

“You don’t give birth to a child and treat it like your other children. These new regions need special attention so the Ministry is still relevant,” he responded. 

Mr Botwe said there was co-ordination between his outfit and the Ministries Mr Iddrisu listed to ensure that the projects were well executed. 

The Ministry of Regional Reorganisation and Development was established in 2017 to oversee the creation of six new regions which it has successfully done in 2018. 

The House, meanwhile, has approved a GH¢9,207,187 budget estimate for the services of the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation for the 2020 financial year. 

It also approved budget estimates for the Ministries of Planning GH¢9,650,836, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, GH¢475,423,880 and Office of the Head of Civil Service GH¢34,708,832.  

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI 

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