President John Mahama of Ghana has reportedly scrapped seven ministries in a bid to reduce the cost of governance.
Mahama’s decision which came in an executive order was contained in a gazette dated January 9, 2025, just two days after he assumed office as president.
The president who is in for a second term has thus pruned down the number of government ministries from 30 to 23.
According to the gazette, the West African country would no longer have the ministries of information, sanitation and water resources as well as national security.
Mahama scrapped other ministries such as railway development, parliamentary affairs, public enterprises as well as chieftaincy and religious affairs.
“The order established the ministries of finance, health, interior, defence, education, energy and green transition, roads and highways, transport, sports and recreation, justice, lands and natural resources, and local government and chieftaincy and affairs,” the gazette read.
“Others are foreign affairs, communication, digital technology, environment, science and technology, youth development and empowerment, works, housing and water resources, gender, children and social protection, tourism, culture and creative arts, labour, jobs and employment, food and agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and trade, agribusiness and industry.”
Mahama had previously served as Ghana’s president between 2012 and 2017, but lost out to Nana Akufo-Addo in his re-election bid.
He, however, returned to power after defeating former Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, with the president polling 6,328,397 votes, representing 56.55 percent of the vote cast, while the latter got 4,657,304 votes with 41.6 percent.