The Office of the Cabinet Secretary has issued a firm directive reminding all Ministers of State not to announce policy initiatives or programmes without Cabinet approval.
In a circular dated October 27, which was signed by the Secretary to the Cabinet, Prof Kwaku Danso-Boafo warned the minister of the trend of announcing initiatives on behalf of the government before those proposals have been formally discussed or approved by Cabinet.
“Cabinet wishes to remind all Ministers that, in accordance with established governance protocols and the collective responsibility principle enshrined in the Constitution, no public policy, programme, or major initiative shall be considered a policy of government unless it has been duly submitted to, deliberated upon, and approved by Cabinet,” part of the circular stated.
The statement comes after Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, who has instructed the Director General of Ghana Education Service (GES) to make the use of teaching in the Ghanaian Language or mother tongue compulsory at the basic level.
The Education Minister explained that the move is aimed at improving learning outcomes and comprehension among pupils at the basic level.
Speaking in the presence of President John Mahana and the GES Director-General, Haruna Iddrisu stated, “Mr President, the story is told of a young girl whose teacher, somewhere in the Ashanti Region, went in and was waxing English, teaching at the early stages of development.
Then the child told the teacher that, ‘3y3 a, ka Twi, kakra na mente ase3’ which translates to: ‘Please speak a little Twi, because I don’t understand’”.
He further narrated, “So, Mr President, in line with that and with your authority, I’m directing the Director General of the Ghana Education Service and the GES that from today, teacher use of mother tongue instruction is now compulsory in all Ghanaian schools” his directive was met with loud cheers from the ground gathered.
He emphasised that the GES must ensure the strict enforcement of this directive.
“The GES is to ensure strict enforcement of this because that child, that Ghanaian child, was not born into an English family, but a proud Asante Akan family and deserves to learn,” he added.
Full statement below:
ADHERENCE TO CABINET PROCEDURES IN THE
FORMULATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF PUBLIC POLICIES
The attention of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary has been drawn to the growing practice where some Ministers of State have publicly announced, or caused to be announced, major policy initiatives and programmes purportedly on behalf of the Government without prior discussion, review, or approval by Cabinet.
Cabinet wishes to remind all Ministers that, in accordance with established governance protocols and the collective responsibility principle enshrined in the Constitution, no public policy, programme, or major initiative shall be considered a policy of Government unless it has been duly submitted to, deliberated upon, and approved by Cabinet.
For the avoidance of doubt, Ministers are respectfully requested to ensure that all proposed policies, programmes, or legislative initiatives intended for public announcement or implementation are first submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat, through the Chief Director of their respective Ministries, for inclusion on the Cabinet agenda and subsequent consideration by Cabinet.
This directive is intended to safeguard policy coherence, uphold collective Cabinet responsibility, and ensure that all Government communications and actions reflect the unified and approved position of the Administration.
Ministers are therefore advised to refrain from announcing or implementing any policy that has not received Cabinet approval. Any such public statement or initiative undertaken outside this process shall not be deemed to represent official Government policy.
Please be guided accordingly.