Mahama Bars Ministers, CEOs from Accepting Private Awards Without Presidential Approval
The Presidency has directed ministers, chief executive officers of state institutions and other political appointees to stop participating in or accepting awards from private organisations unless they obtain prior approval from the Office of the President.
The directive, issued by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama, follows growing concern within government over what it describes as the increasing proliferation of private award schemes purporting to recognise public officials as the “best-performing,” “most outstanding,” or “most influential” office holders.
According to the Presidency, many of the organisations conferring such honours are largely unknown to the public, operate without transparent assessment criteria and lack verifiable standards for measuring the performance of public officials.
The government warned that the trend risks undermining the integrity of public service, creating false impressions about official performance and exposing public institutions to criticism and reputational damage.
“Public office is a solemn responsibility entrusted to officials by the people of Ghana,” the directive stated, stressing that the performance of public officials cannot be measured through privately organised ceremonies, commercial award schemes or self-appointed rating bodies whose methodologies are not subject to public scrutiny.
As a result, President John Dramani Mahama has instructed all ministers, heads of state institutions and political appointees to refrain from participating in, sponsoring, endorsing, attending or accepting awards from such organisations without express authorisation from the Presidency.
The directive comes amid increasing public debate over the credibility of some award schemes that have become prominent in recent years, often honouring public officials and state institutions with little clarity regarding the basis for selection.
The Presidency emphasised that government remains focused on delivering its policy commitments and that the true measure of performance lies in the achievement of targets outlined in the National Democratic Congress’ 2024 manifesto, the government’s development agenda and performance benchmarks agreed with supervising authorities.
It further reminded public officials that their work would be evaluated based on measurable outcomes, effective service delivery, prudent management of public resources and successful implementation of government programmes.
In a significant signal to office holders, the Presidency disclosed that it will undertake a comprehensive performance review of ministers and chief executive officers in due course.
According to the statement, the findings of that review will play a critical role in determining decisions on retention, reassignment of responsibilities and any future cabinet or executive restructuring.
The government therefore urged public officials to focus their attention on delivering results for citizens rather than pursuing external recognition from organisations whose credibility may be questionable.
The directive is expected to reshape the relationship between public officials and private award organisers, while reinforcing the Presidency’s emphasis on performance-based accountability within government.
