Former United Nations Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has called for a clear separation between politics and national development to ensure development.
Speaking on Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, he questioned the long-standing practice of newly elected presidents removing all key appointees of the previous government, regardless of their performance.
“I am not a constitutional lawyer, and I may not be too familiar with the Constitution, but I am not sure there is any provision requiring an elected president to sack all known appointees of the previous government and replace them with his own choices,” he said.
He acknowledged that some strategic positions, especially in the security sector, may require changes for national security reasons but criticised the “wholesale sacking” of appointees as a norm in Ghana’s political system.
According to him, this practice had existed across different administrations and was not unique to the current government under President Mahama.
“In my view, it doesn’t make sense to do that, but currently, the system allows it. So, it is not a matter of blaming Mahama or anybody. It is the system they inherit and the practice that has been going on,” he explained.
Prof. Agyeman-Duah pointed to Thailand as an example of a country that has successfully separated politics from development.
“In Thailand, politicians focus on governance while civil servants, who maintain professionalism, continue implementing policies and projects regardless of changes in government. Only top political functionaries are replaced,” he said.
He warned that without a shift in Ghana’s approach to governance and development, the country risks making slow progress, saying, “If we are not careful to change our development model, which should come with a change in mindset, we will move two steps forward and four steps backwards, and that really spells disaster for our country.”
