A substantial realignment of Cabinet responsibilities by the Prime Minister has sparked widespread discussion. However, political scientist Professor Hamid Ghany says the changes appear aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.
He said the Prime Minister’s Cabinet realignment was aimed at better matching portfolios with ministerial responsibilities to improve coordination and efficiency, rather than serving as a traditional Cabinet reshuffle.
“She has the confidence in the personnel. That is the first thing to be established. So having confidence in the personnel is a critical dimension of this. It is just to realign the duties and responsibilities, which is where she wants to seek to find some additional efficiencies.”
Professor Ghany said the Prime Minister has spent the past year assessing Ministerial portfolios and the performance of the Ministries under them.
“Some of the realignments have come in such a way that they might line up better with one Ministry than another; for example, the Agricultural Development Bank was moved from the Ministry of Agriculture and has been put in Ministry of Finance. So from that point of view, it is not so much is that it is a bank that services the agriculture sector but that it is a bank. So the Ministry of Finance may be a place for it to grow.”
Another factor behind the changes is the proximity of the national budget presentation. Professor Ghany said implementing the adjustments now allows Ministers and technocrats to work more closely together ahead of the new fiscal year, improving coordination and enabling a more efficient response to policy and budget priorities.
“Last year she did it around the same time; just before the budget. That means that you are putting Ministers in position to start off with budgetary allocations to their Ministries under the various duties and responsibility areas that are assigned to them.”
Professor Ghany said the effects of the Cabinet realignment are unlikely to be immediately visible, adding that the true measure of its success will be whether it leads to better public service delivery, rather than how individual ministers are perceived.