People Think Mahama Has No Teeth�But Latest Reshuffle Shows Readiness To Move From 1st To 3rd Gear

The Central Regional Propaganda Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Allotey Jacobs, has defined President John Mahama's current crop of appointees announced in the recent ministerial reshuffle as the anticipated panacea to the current economic hardships Ghanaians are plagued with. Commending the President for making the right appointments, Allotey Jacobs was hopeful Ghanaians will soon see light at the end of tunnel. According to him, the new list has generated excitement among the rank and file of the ruling party, and also signifies the President's readiness and commitment to move the country from first gear to "third gear." His Excellency John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday revealed the full list of his ministerial reshuffle. Under the new government structure, the President has scrapped the Ministry of Information and placed the Communications Ministry in charge of the Information and Media Relations functions of the government. This therefore means that all agencies under the former Ministry of Information and Media Relations will operate under the Ministry of Communications as it was prior to the year 2001. The list saw Hanna Tetteh retained at the Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration Ministry while former Information Minister Mahama Ayariga has been moved to the Youth and Sports Ministry. The new list also includes names like Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and Fifi Kwetey as Trade & Industry and Food & Agriculture Ministers respectively, among other ministerial appointees. Speaking on Peace FM's �Kokrokoo�, Allotey Jacobs charged government officials to rally support behind President Mahama and assist him deliver on the ruling party's Better Ghana Agenda. He appealed to people within the party and government to "take the President very very serious that he means what he says. And by these changes we see, it means that now it�s time to execute every project, promises, policies that the government has formulated to take Ghana from where it is now and gear it towards 2016.� Concluding his submissions on the station's political analysis programme, Allotey Jacobs stole a line from the quote by former President Rawlings, who described some government officials as "babies with sharp teeth"; stating emphatically that "people think the President has no teeth but his teeth are stronger than the baby teeth, very stronger than the baby teeth. "They say the letter is causing fear and panic. The letter is rather recording the merit and demerit of those who were around the Presidency. And based upon that, those who must remain will remain and those who must go will go. In all this, the President is preparing himself.�