President John Mahama has defended his administration’s decision to exclude the Ministry of Information from the newly announced lineup of 23 ministries, describing the move as a strategic step to streamline government operations while fulfilling a commitment to reduce the size of government.

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His remarks came in response to concerns raised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), which sought clarification on the rationale behind the exclusion of the Information Ministry from the government structure.Speaking during a press engagement, President Mahama explained that the reorganization was aimed at eliminating redundancies while ensuring effective communication.

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“With regards to government communications, you’ll notice that there’s no Information Ministry in the lineup of 23 ministries we recently announced. That was partly in response to our promise to downsize government,” the President stated.

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To address the critical need for clear and accurate dissemination of information, President Mahama announced the creation of a new position—a Minister of State in charge of government communications—situated directly under the presidency.“We had to be very strategic with how we dealt with the flow of information from government because that’s critical to the success of whatever we intend to do.

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That’s why we brought information into the presidency, with a Minister of State in charge of government communications, and anchored it with a string of strong communications professionals in the most critical sectors,” he explained.The President also outlined plans to modernize the Information Services Department (ISD), transitioning it into a dynamic entity under the presidency.

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This restructured ISD, he said, will focus on delivering consistent and accurate updates on government activities to the public in a timely manner.By integrating communication functions into the presidency and enhancing the ISD, President Mahama emphasized his administration’s commitment to maintaining effective government communication while meeting its pledge to reduce bureaucracy.

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