The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has defended the John Dramani Mahama administration’s decision to extend Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno’s tenure by two years, despite a prior government directive against renewing or extending contracts for retiring public officers.
Speaking in an interview to GHone TV, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said, “As a general rule, the government believes that it helps if we do not have a general flat policy of these renewals, but I’m sure that to every rule there is an exception.”
He emphasized the unique nature of this decision, particularly because it concerns a security sector appointment.
He added, “There is an IGP who has been in office for under a year, if I’m not mistaken. Surely, a case can be made for allowing sufficient time for his policies to percolate, for his initiatives to come to fruition, because stability and continuity is a key requirement in security management.”
Addressing public concerns about consistency in government policies, the Minister acknowledged, “The public is right in demanding consistency in public policy making, and demanding that government sticks to what it says, but I guess that a case can be made for very, very few and specific exceptions, if the circumstances dictate so.”
Felix Kwakye Ofosu also clarified that the decision was not unilateral.
“It is not a unilateral decision taken by the president. In fact, the Police Council that has jurisdiction over such matters has considered the IGP’s tenure over the period, analysed its output, examined the security challenges we have, and also looked into what may be required to address them, among other things.”
He concluded, “They came to the conclusion that it will serve the interests of the country at this stage to have this sort of extension. When such a recommendation is made, it is worth looking into, and if the assessment shows that there is merit in that position, I do not see why a very limited exception cannot be made in that particular instance.”
The Minister reiterated, “The general principle that we should not encourage people hanging on after they have served in certain capacities for so long, is not one that one can argue against, except that in this instance, there were peculiar considerations that have gone into making this decision.”
Source: www.Kumasimail.com
