A political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, has questioned President Akufo Addo’s decision to run his government with a hundred and ten ministers.
According to him, the number is too large for the country and will not promote efficiency as suggested by the President.
[contextly_sidebar id=”jyJRSWkqATahwOnDykw7y2XbtUU3swAG”]He said the President could have done with fewer ministers who will deliver on their mandate efficiently.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Prof. Gyampo told host, Richard Sky, that “the idea of efficiency is using few to achieve more. So if you have a government that is made up of over 100 ministers and you describe this as big, it doesn’t promote efficiency. You need a few ministers to prosecute your agenda. I’m not sure the Akufo-Addo administration needs all these people to help him redeem his campaign promises.”
He noted that, the size of the government will certainly take a toll on the nation’s coffers. He said the government’s obligation to pay salaries, provide vehicles, security, accommodation, among other things will affect the country’s finances rather than protect it as being argued by a section of the public.
“If a government is big enough to think of doing things to satisfy the needs of people, it is big enough at the same time to take from the people. You will succeed in creating wealth, but the same wealth will be gobbled by the very people who are serving in government so at the end of the day, the ordinary people will be missing out in terms of development,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo’s appointment of 110 ministers including deputies to serve in his government, has generated controversy as some Ghanaians say it betrays their trust in the new government, which was expected to refrain from any activity that has the tendency of plundering the state coffers.
The number is the largest in Ghana’s history.
Prof. Gyampo said Ghana’s weak economy cannot be made to accommodate the large number of ministers.
“For an economy where things are not so well, you cannot afford to allow the few resources to be gobbled by the people that you have appointed, so all over the world, it is improving.. An idea of an efficient government is a lean government. I cannot fathom any justification for this size of the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has expressed optimism that the size of his government will enable him fulfill all his promises to Ghanaians.
He said the criticism against his ministerial appointments will cease when his government delivers effectively on their mandate.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic and GTV, the president said “we have a problem, and what is the best way? It is better to have men and women capable of serving the nation’s interests and to work to grow the economy… If I succeed, you will soon find out the brouhaha is nothing compared to the success.”
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor