Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Finance Minister.
The former Finance Minister has stressed the importance of respecting past decisions in governance, stating that continuity and understanding historical contexts are crucial for effective leadership.
Dr Mohammed Amin Adam speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, stressed that leaders cannot dismiss the work of their predecessors without first comprehending the reasoning behind their policies and actions.
“You cannot just come in for one year without understanding the context, without understanding the background behind some of the decisions that he [Ken Ofori-Atta] made, and so we kept that good relationship,” Dr Amin Adam stated, highlighting the need for cooperation and humility in leadership transitions.
He underscored the significance of humility in governance, asserting that respect must extend to all levels of an organisation, from high-ranking officials to subordinates, as valuable insights can be gained from every individual.
“A boss is always a boss. You have to be humble, even when you meet people who are your servants. You have to be humble to them because there is something you can learn from everybody within the space, whether they are your bosses or they are your subordinates,” he remarked.
Dr Amin Adam shared his leadership philosophy, revealing how he fostered an open and collaborative work environment at the Ministry of Finance.
“If you go to the Ministry of Finance, they will tell you, I mean, I treated everybody as a colleague, that we work together.
“Even the security people in the Ministry of Finance, I had a very good relationship. They could walk into my office, I could go out and sit with them, and we would talk,” he recounted.
He pointed out that valuable information often comes from the most unexpected sources, including those at the lowest levels of an organisation, who can offer perspectives that decision-makers might otherwise overlook.
“You always walk away with information that you really would not get from the mainstream, but you can get from the people that we do not expect to even appreciate some of the issues we are confronted with.
“If you want to know how ordinary people in the street feel, your security men at the ministry can give you that sense.
“Even if you don’t want to go to the street and sample people and talk to them, just by relating to ordinary people within the ministry—some of them at the lowest level in the hierarchy—you can get a sense of how people feel. And that could help in making decisions that would inure to the benefit of the people,” he explained.
Dr Amin Adam also addressed the initial scepticism he faced upon assuming the role of Finance Minister, with some questioning his approach and expertise.
“When you came in, and there were questions like, for a while when you started managing things, ‘Where has this man been?’” he recalled.
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