Best Minister Today, Sacked Tomorrow? Prempeh Warns Awards Could Undermine Presidential Authority

The growing controversy over the Ghana Ministers of State Excellence Awards has taken a new turn, with one of the country’s most respected governance experts warning that the scheme could create an awkward and potentially destabilising dynamic within government — one where a minister celebrated as “the best” today could find themselves out of a job tomorrow.

Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), laid out this scenario during an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Monday, arguing that external awards ranking government ministers could directly interfere with the President’s constitutional prerogative to assess, appoint, and dismiss his team.

The awards, organised by Big Events Ghana, have sparked intense public debate in recent weeks, with critics questioning the legitimacy of privately ranking public officials and supporters defending the initiative as a necessary check on government performance. The controversy has already raised broader questions about public accountability in Ghana’s governance structures.

The Reshuffle Dilemma

Prof. Prempeh’s central argument revolves around a practical governance dilemma: what happens when a President is planning a cabinet reshuffle, only to have a third party publicly crown one of his ministers as the nation’s best?

“Assuming, for example, that the President, who is probably contemplating a reshuffle on the eve of that decision, is met with an award designating a particular minister as the best minister,” he said, leaving the audience to imagine the political complications that would follow.

The scenario becomes even more problematic when one considers that the minister being celebrated could simultaneously be under consideration for removal. “Meanwhile, that minister may well have been on the cutting block, on the President’s cutting block, right by the President’s own internal standards and benchmarks and other things,” Prof. Prempeh explained.

He argued that such external recognition effectively creates a parallel assessment system that could paralyse presidential decision-making. “This minister was probably going to be given the axe, and all of a sudden we have a third party with some private or whatever interest promoting this person as the one who, in their view, is the best minister,” he said.

Beyond Individual Ministers

The implications extend beyond individual appointments. Prof. Prempeh warned that the awards could erode the fundamental principle of collective responsibility that underpins cabinet governance.

“Ministers, even though appointed to particular roles and assigned particular roles, deliver on a mandate collectively, which flows from the President and also terminates with the President,” he explained. The awards, by their very nature, pit ministers against each other in a competition for individual recognition.

“There is this idea of collective responsibility, and there’s a sense in which the ministers must work together as a team to deliver on the mandate of the executive, the President,” he stated. He warned that when ministers begin pursuing solo projects to earn personal accolades, the teamwork essential to effective governance begins to break down.

“When you begin to throw these kinds of perverse incentives that cause one or the other minister or some other ministers to begin to pursue solo projects in order to get personal glory, you can also undermine the teamwork that is at the foundation of this principle of collective responsibility,” Prof. Prempeh cautioned.

A Public Appetite for Accountability

Despite his reservations, Prof. Prempeh acknowledged that the popularity of the awards may reflect a genuine gap in how government performance is measured and communicated to the public. “But I think you do put your finger on an important point, which is, are they filling a gap? Isn’t the market filling a gap?” he asked.

The question of how citizens should evaluate their leaders’ performance remains one of the most pressing challenges in Ghana’s democratic journey. The debate over the ministerial awards, whatever its outcome, has at least forced a national conversation about accountability, transparency, and the proper mechanisms for assessing those entrusted with public office.

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