Ministry of Regional Re-organization and Dev’t has outlived its usefulness – Minority

The Minority in Parliament has questioned the continuous existence of the Ministry of Regional Re-organisation and Development more than a year after the creation of six new regions which it says was its sole responsibility.

This comes after Parliament on Wednesday approved over GHS 150 million for the ministry for its use in the 2020 fiscal year.

But speaking during the budget approval for the Ministry, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said the Ministry has outlived its usefulness.

“We see the construction of six regional hospitals in there when we have the Ministry of Health.  But this is captured in the Ministry of Regional Reorganization. So the Minister is not worth a Minister and the Ministry is not worth a ministry.”

This is not the first time the Minority is objecting to the government’s allocation of funds to the Ministry of Regional Reorganisation and Development

Before the creation of the six new regions, the Minority threatened a walkout in Parliament after the Finance Minister’s announcement that an allocation of GHS122,787,463 had been made to the ministry for the proposal.

At the time, the Minority leader said the move was unconstitutional and demanded the immediate scrapping of the Ministry as soon as the regions are created.

“We are creating a new monster of bureaucracy in the Ministry of Regional Reorganization. I find that constitutionally objectionable. The money should be given to the Ministry of Local Government for the purposes of the regions,” he said.