'Blame Akufo-Addo if Adwoa Safo is incompetent' - Benjamin Nsiah to Ghanaians

Head of Research at the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC-GH), Benjamin Nsiah, has advised Ghanaians to stop chastising Gender Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo for what they describe as incompetence on her part.

He insisted that if the minister is being portrayed as incompetent, then, the blame must go to the President and not the minister.

Speaking in a panel discussion on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show, he expressed: “If a minister fails, we must blame the president because he made the appointment. I believe in this case, the employer must be blamed and not the employee. If the President feels she has not performed well in her role, he can terminate her contract.”

He added that in any case, the work at the Gender ministry is overwhelming as all over the country, there are about 1,200 staff of the ministry who are overseeing issues on women and children.

He thus admonished that people must not be quick to condemn Adwoa Sarfo without the facts.

“From the population census, we have discovered that there are more women than men in the country. The gender ministry is mandated to oversee all these women besides children, both girls and boys. From what I know there are about 1,200 workers under the ministry. So how do these few people serve the masses. It will be overwhelming. The next factor to consider is the budget for the ministry which is sometimes not up to 100 million. So, we must consider all these before concluding that she is incompetent,” he added.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended the leave of absence from office for the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya, which was to have ended on 31st August 2021.

The Minister sought leave of absence for personal reasons.

In a statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin, in her absence, and until further notice, President Akufo-Addo has directed the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, to act as caretaker Minister for Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.