The Ministry of Finance said the reorganisation and new appointments were in a bid to create a more responsive and efficient Ministry. It is also expected to help the Ministry deliver more effectively on its core mandate of public financial management.

The first Directors to hold the newly established post of Coordinating Directors, according to the statement, are Mr. Michael Ayesu and Ms. Eva Esselba Mends, two seasoned public servants with 30 and 27 years of work experience in the Ministry of Finance respectively. 

“Until their elevation to these roles, Mr. Michael Ayesu and Ms. Eva Mends were Directors for External Resource Mobilization – Multilateral and Budget Divisions.” A new Director of Budget, Mrs. Evelyn Abena Arthur, has also been appointed. Until her appointment, she was the Head of Budget Planning and Preparation Unit, where she coordinated the processes for the preparation of national medium term and annual budgets and related government policies.

She is the second woman to be appointed to the position of Director of Budget in Ghana.

The new appointments took effect from Wednesday January 2, 2019.

“In addition to the new top appointments, Divisions within the Ministry have been reorganized to focus on the core functions of the Ministry of Finance, as part of the Ministry’s functional review, reform agenda and to conform to international best practice. 

This is the first time in over thirty years that the Ministry is witnessing such a major restructuring,” the statement said. The reorganized Divisions will be known as: Budget, Treasury and Debt Management, Economic Strategy and Research, Resource Mobilization and Economic Relations, Public Investment and Assets, Human Capital and General Administration, Financial Sector, as well as Policy Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation.

Advisory Units will include Legal, Internal Audit and a Transformation Unit.

The statement said Mr Ken Ofori, Minister of Finance, announced this at the Ministry of Finance, and noting that, the Ministry was undergoing these ‘bold, structural and human capital reforms’ for efficiency and prompt delivery of service to Ghanaians.

"In line with our new slogan at the Ministry, we are poised to be more professional, efficient, ethical and responsive to our MDAs and all other stakeholders and to transform Ghana beyond Aid” he stated.

This reorganization of the functions of the divisions, according to the Minister, will help the Ministry to be more focused on an aggressive revenue policy, resource mobilization, treasury management and expenditure control, as well as respond timely to the needs of our MDAs in the delivery of the national budget in 2019 and beyond.

“I am particularly optimistic that the new Coordinating Director roles established by the Office of the Head of Civil Service will ensure greater focus on the core issues that will position the Ministry to be more effective in carrying out our mandate”, said the Minister.