BY Issah Olegor
President John Dramani Mahama has officially added four more deputy ministers to his administration, increasing the total number of ministerial appointees to 60—six months into his second term in office.
The appointments, all drawn from Parliament, have triggered fresh scrutiny over the President’s earlier commitment to maintaining a “lean and efficient” government.
Ghana
The latest nominees are:
1. Dorcas Toffey (MP) – Deputy Minister for Transport
2. James Gyakye Quayson (MP) – Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
3. Mohammed A. Sukparu (MP) – Deputy Minister for Communications (Designate)
4.Prof. Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah (MP) – Deputy Minister for Health (Designate)
These appointments come just weeks after President Mahama, in a national address marking 120 days in office, declared that his administration had made the fewest ministerial appointments in the Fourth Republic—56 ministers and deputies in total.
“I promised to constitute the leanest and most efficient government under the Fourth Republic within the first 90 days,” Mahama said on May 7, 2025.
“Indeed, I have so far appointed only 56 ministers and deputies—the smallest number appointed by any president in the Fourth Republic.”
The President also cited cost-saving measures and improved coordination as reasons behind his decision to limit the size of government.
However, the inclusion of the four new deputy ministers brings the total number of appointees to 60.
