Kwesi Pratt Jr, a veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has sent a word of caution to Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa amid calls by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for his dismissal.
According to Kwesi Pratt, Ablakwa’s approach to handling issues within the Foreign Affairs Ministry exposes him to unnecessary public scrutiny.
He urged the Foreign Affairs Minister to allow his subordinates, officials and departments within the ministry to perform their respective duties instead of him personally taking the lead in addressing every issue.
He argued that the ministry has a clear administrative structure, including deputy ministers, chief directors and departmental heads, who should be allowed to handle matters within their respective areas of responsibility.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on November 4, 2026, Kwesi Pratt stated, “I have a little advice for the minister himself. It’s a huge position and comes with huge responsibility… And anybody occupying that position ought to take steps, take steps to distance himself from the potential fallout of some administrative actions”.
“That is why in the ministry, you have a minister, you have Deputies, you have Chief Directors, you have Directors for different desks. There are so many departments in that ministry. The ministers should allow the departments to function and the officers to function”.
“The minister is the last resort. When everything has gone haywire, when nothing has been solved, that’s when the minister starts to think,” he said.
Pratt questioned why Ablakwa appeared to be at the forefront of public communication on issues concerning the ministry, noting that the ministry’s public relations department and other responsible officers should ordinarily handle communication on administrative.
“Ministries have public relations officers. And yet, it is always the minister who is standing there, ready to face the storm. What is your public relations department supposed to do if not answer questions?” he asked.
The veteran journalist stressed that allowing the relevant officials to handle such matters would help protect ministers from being drawn into controversies that arise from routine administrative decisions.
Kwasi Pratt further called for proper training and orientation for ministers after their appointments.
He explained that political loyalty and campaign contributions should not be the only considerations in appointing public officers.
Kwesi Pratt stated, “Just throwing them into the crowd doesn’t help the ministers. It doesn’t help the government. It doesn’t help the country. It doesn’t help anybody”.
His comment follows the NPP youth wing, which took to the streets of Accra to protest against what it describes as a lack of accountability in the Mahama government’s handling of public funds and the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
The demonstration, dubbed ‘Yɛgye Yɛ Sika’, saw party supporters gather to demand answers from the government over two major issues they believe require urgent public scrutiny.
The NPP protesters demanded a detailed account of the reported GH¢16.4 million discrepancy in the expenditure on the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa.
They also called for the government to publish the original invoices, contracts and proof of payment for all charter flights used in the evacuation exercise.
Also, they demanded that a full passenger manifest and beneficiary list be released to enable the public to verify the reported number of evacuees to ascertain who benefited from the evacuation.
The youth wing also demanded an independent audit of the total expenditure.
Watch the video below:
Watch the video below:
Let your subordinates work! – Kwesi Pratt sends a word of caution to Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa #GoofMorningGhana #MetroTV https://t.co/SM9Dem0bsq
— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) November 4, 2026
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