The Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee (CRC), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has justified the committee’s recommendation to cap the number of ministers, insisting that Ghana must return to a tradition of restrained and efficient governance.
Prof Prempeh said the proposal is grounded in Ghana’s constitutional history, noting that previous republican constitutions imposed limits on the size of government to promote efficiency and fiscal discipline.
“Ghana has done this before. We capped the number of ministers under the 1969 Constitution and again in 1979,” he said. “The numbers we have today are simply too many, and it does not make sense.”
He explained that the committee’s recommendations draw inspiration from the 1992 Constitution, which stipulates that the Cabinet should be made up of 19 ministers in addition to the Vice President.
According to him, this figure provides a logical reference point for determining the broader composition of government.
“The Constitution is deliberate in stating that the Cabinet should consist of 19 ministers plus the Vice President. There must be a reason for that number,” Prof Prempeh said in an interview with Channel One News. “We therefore proposed a multiple of 19; three times that figure, as a reasonable ceiling.”
Under the CRC’s proposal, the total number of ministers would be capped at 57. However, Prof. Prempeh noted that the committee has made room for flexibility in exceptional cases, while ensuring stronger parliamentary control.
“If there is a genuine need to go beyond the cap, the President must return to Parliament to justify each additional appointment,” he explained. “This strengthens accountability and ensures that any expansion of government is properly scrutinised.”
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