Ablakwa should allow Foreign Ministry’s departments to function – Kwesi Pratt

Managing Editor of The Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has advised Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to allow officials within the ministry to handle administrative matters instead of personally taking the lead in addressing every issue. Mr Pratt said the minister’s approach to public communication and the handling of ministry-related matters could expose him to unnecessary scrutiny and potential criticism arising from administrative decisions.

The veteran journalist said the Foreign Affairs Minister occupies a high-level government position that requires careful attention to the responsibilities and risks associated with the office. “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,” he said.

Mr Pratt argued that the ministry has an established administrative structure comprising deputy ministers, chief directors and departmental heads, who should be allowed to perform their respective functions. He said the minister should intervene only when issues cannot be resolved through the appropriate administrative channels. “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. Mr Pratt also questioned why the minister appeared to be the main spokesperson on issues concerning the ministry, arguing that its public relations department and other responsible officials should ordinarily handle routine administrative communication.

“Ministers are 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?” he asked. He said the practice of ministers personally taking responsibility for public communication could expose them to criticism over matters that should ordinarily be handled by departments and agencies.

Mr Pratt further called for proper training and orientation for ministers after their appointments, arguing that political loyalty and campaign contributions should not be the only considerations in preparing individuals for public office. “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,” he said. He spoke on Metro TV. Mr Pratt’s comments come amid pressure on Mr Ablakwa from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose Youth Wing has called on President John Dramani Mahama to remove him from office over alleged financial irregularities in the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa. The party has questioned the reported GH¢49.72 million expenditure on the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians, demanding an independent audit and the publication of supporting invoices and payment records.

It has also called for investigations into allegations surrounding the sale of diplomatic and service passports. The NPP’s National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, led a demonstration in Accra on November 3, 2026, during which protesters presented a petition containing the party’s demands to the Presidency. The allegations and demands have not, in themselves, established any wrongdoing by the minister.