Franklin Cudjoe urges President Mahama to relieve Ato Forson of Defence Role

President of policy think tank IMANI-Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to relieve Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson of his additional responsibility as Acting Defence Minister, cautioning that the dual role could undermine fiscal discipline at a critical time for Ghana’s economy.
Mr. Cudjoe made the appeal in a Facebook post on January 1, assessing the early performance of the Mahama administration and outlining key priorities ahead of the rollout of major government projects in 2026.
According to him, although President Mahama has “started off very well,” the scale and complexity of the government’s planned “Big Push” infrastructure programme demand the Finance Minister’s full attention.
“Please free Finance Minister, Ato Forson from the additional duty as Defence Minister so he can focus and continue being fiscally disciplined,” he wrote.
Mr. Cudjoe stressed that Dr. Forson must be allowed to focus fully on managing the economy, enforcing fiscal discipline, and overseeing budget execution, especially as the country prepares for significant capital expenditure in the coming year.
He warned that overstretching key officials could lead to inefficiencies, procurement challenges, and weak oversight, particularly in large-scale infrastructure projects.
To strengthen accountability, the IMANI-Africa President also proposed reinforcing the Cabinet Office and appointing an Administrator-General or Assessor-General from the civil service to independently monitor and conduct risk assessments on major government projects.
He noted that proactive oversight would help prevent corruption, cost overruns, and delays, stressing that Ghana cannot afford another cycle of waste followed by post-tenure accountability exercises.