Information Ministry is tough; you can never be right

Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says he never misses heading the Information Ministry; describing it as the second toughest area after the Ministry of Finance.

According to him; he was chastised on a daily bases as the Minister for Information for trying to explain government policies and programs to the citizenry.

He asserts because the Information Minister is constantly in the first line of government defence; it is practically impossible for him or her to find favour with the populace.

Speaking on Prime Morning, Dr. Abdul-Hamid indicated he is glad to have left the Information Ministry.

“I don’t miss the Information Ministry at all. I’m happy I got rid of the place. It is tough and you can never be right. There has never been a popular Minister for Information on the surface of the earth. You cannot be loved.” he explained.

President Akufo-Addo in his first major ministerial reshuffle in August 2018; reassigned Dr. Abdul-Hamid to the Inner City and Zongo Development Ministry; ceding the position to his then deputy, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid revealed that he constantly receives blessings from beneficiaries of government social interventions in the Zongo communities than he would have gotten in any other ministry.

As part of efforts to develop Zongo communities, government set up a Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF) with seed funding of GHȼ219.5 million. The Fund is to support the provision of critical infrastructure in education and training, health and sanitation, local businesses and centres of culture, as well as improve security in the Zongo communities.

Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid indicated by the end of 2020, the government will deliver close to one hundred million Ghana Cedis (GHS1m) in development projects in Zongo communities across the country.