President Mahama’s credibility could be at risk over 60-minister promise, says Tutu-Boahene

The political strategist Bernard Tutu-Boahene has weighed in on speculation about whether President John Dramani Mahama will stick to his promise to cap the number of ministers in his government at 60.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show (ABS) on Wednesday (8 January), Tutu-Boahene said Mahama’s prior experience as both a president and vice-president suggests that the promise wasn’t made lightly.

According to the strategist, Mahama probably carried out a careful analysis before making the commitment to Ghanaians.

“Coming from his background,” Tutu-Boahene said – “he’s been a president before; he’s been a vice-president before – for him to have come out to indicate to the good people of Ghana and to his teeming supporters that he’s going to limit his ministers to 60 means that he probably might have done his calculations and it was not just campaign rhetoric.”

However, Tutu-Boahene said that even if the speculation turns out to be more than mere hearsay, Mahama is under no obligation to justify the shift in his stance.

“If it is not a rumour, if it is not hearsay,” he explained, “then I think that the president does not have any reason to probably come to us and say that, ‘I am not going to do what I said; I’m not going to deliver on what I said.’”

That said, Tutu-Boahene acknowledged that any deviation from the pledge, regardless of the justification for this, could damage Mahama’s credibility.

“He [Mahama] can come and give us a rational perspective, or a rational reason as to why he can’t do … 60 [ministers] but probably can do 70. And if the good people of Ghana understand and he wants to do it, fine,” he said. 

“But the point still remains that it dents the credibility and the believability of the president because you have made a promise and you have not delivered exactly on the promise.”

Asaase Broadcasting Company airs on Asaase 99.5 Accra, Asaase 98.5 Kumasi, Asaase 99.7 Tamale, Asaase 100.3 Cape Coast, AsaasePa 107.3 (Accra).
Affiliates: Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nandom FM 101.9, Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Sissala Radio 96.3 (Tumu), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseRadioXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand