SURVEY: Know your best and worst Ghanaian Ministers

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Education Minister is the best performing Minister in the Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a survey by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, has revealed.

According to findings of the study, Dr Opoku Prempeh tops the list of best performing ministers on the basis of policy and delivery, competency and hard work.

The opinion poll 2019 dubbed “Assessment of the 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) – Perspective from the Constituents”; was carried out from March to June, 2019, with funding from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Finding of the study was jointly presented on Monday in Accra by Dr Isaac Owusu-Mensah and Mr Kaakyire Frempong, both Senior Lecturers at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana.

In all, a total of 27,500 Ghanaians in selected electoral areas within the 275 constituencies of Ghana, participated in the study, of which 12.2 per cent voted Dr Opoku Prempeh as the best performing minister.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Food and Agriculture Minister took the second place with 5.3 per cent, while Mr John Peter Amewu, Energy Minister came third with 4.7 per cent.

Mr Alan John Kyerematen, Trade and Industry Minister came fourth, with three per cent, with Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Health Minister taking the fifth position with 1.9 per cent, while Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, Youth and Sports Minister occupied the sixth position with 1.8 per cent.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister and Mr Dan Botwe, Minister of Regional Re-Organisation and Development were bracket seventh with 1.7 per cent.

Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of The Interior was eighth with 1.4 per cent while ninth position went to Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, who had 1.3 per cent.

Dr Owusu-Mensah said the survey adopted a Mixed Method Methodology, which is the use of qualitative and quantitative methods, through concurrent and transformative approaches.

He said five electoral areas were selected from each constituency with the exception of Ayawaso North and Ayawaso East, which had three and four electoral areas each.

He noted that the HAT Method was used to randomly select the five electoral areas per constituency.

He said this method was used to select all the 1, 375 electoral areas for all the 275 constituencies.

Dr Owusu-Mensah said interviews were conducted at the appropriate electoral areas and constituencies to solicit key information to validate the quantitative data.

He said in each electoral area, 20 respondents were interviewed; therefore, five electoral areas per constituency were engaged.

He said in all a total of 27,500 Ghanaians in selected electoral areas within the 275 constituencies of Ghana participated in the study.

He said Ghanaian voters were familiar with the role or duties their MPs were expected to carry out in their respective constituency.

He noted that the study showed that overall, 50.8 per cent of Ghanaians knew their MPs as development advocates – the MPs were the agents of socio-economic development in their constituencies.

Therefore, their representation role was relevant to the extent that they are able to represent the constituents’ interests and concerns in legislations (27.5 per cent).

Across the 16 regions, voters in Oti, 77.1 per cent of respondents, linked their MPs’ role to rural development more than Western Region 68.7 per cent, Central 59.5 per cent, North East 59.1 per cent, Western North 58.1 per cent, Northern 54.3 per cent, Greater Accra 51.2 per cent and Ashanti 50.2 per cent.

In the Upper West, 58 per cent and Bono, 40.7 per cent, voters regarded their MPs as representing their concerns in parliament.

It was evident from the study that 6.2 per cent of Ghanaian knew their MPs as law-makers, support community groups, 2.2 per cent, project local problems 1.6 per cent, resolve local conflicts 1.6 per cent and scrutinize legislations 1.3 per cent, while half of respondents identified the MPs’ role as developmental.

Mr Burkhardt Hellemann, Resident Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Ghana said opinion polls play a very crucial role in every democracy.