News:
March 9, 2025
Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Member of Parliament for Damango, Samuel Abu Jinapor says Ghanaians should do a critical analysis of the size of government and they will notice that the John Dramani Mahama government has a larger size of government than Ghanaians are being told despite the sixty (60) Ministers and deputy Ministers he promised.
According to him, to understand the size of government machinery as it is related to the national purse or exchequer, one should look at it in a more holistic manner, because, one president can come and appoint 20 Ministers and deputies and appoint one hundred and fifty senior presidential advisors, staffs and aids. “You would be misled into thinking that the size of the government is smaller, when it comes to cost when indeed the size of that government is much bigger than a government that has appointed one hundred Ministers and deputy Minister”.
“I have raised these issues for us to have objective discussions on this when it comes to the size of government. When Ghanaians say the government is too large, what they are concerned about is that the government is large to the extent that it affects the tax payer and the nation exchequer and purse”, he said at a media briefing with members of the Parliamentary Press Corps.
“If you want to do a proper analysis of which government is bigger, take the number of presidential advisors, staffs and aid and add it to the number of ministers and deputy ministers; that is when you can tell if the government is big or not. When you do the counting this government is turning to be a big government”.
Again, you have Senior Presidential Advisor, Presidential Advisor on the economy, that of twenty four hour economy, Special aid to the president, Presidential Advisor on National Anticorruption Programme, Advisor on Diaspora Affairs, Advisor on Black Star experience, Presidential staff and aid to the Vice President, Presidential staff without portfolio, and five policy advisors to the Vice President.
Director at the presidency in charge of agriculture and agribusiness the lists goes on and on, one presidential advisor on media four deputy communications officers and 16 presidential staffers for the 16 regions.
“I would not be surprised, if we have presidential advisors on nkokor nkitikity and okada business; you never know”.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, contributing to the debate on the Message of the State of the Nation Address, he noted that, the Chief of Staff at the office of the president is put above a Cabinet Minister who doubles as a Member of Parliament but one step below the Speaker of Parliament, and that is the ranking of the Chief of staff if you want to understand the burden the appointment of the Chief of Staff has on the national exchequer.
“The Chief of Staff’s salary, per diem, everything to do with that office is one notch above a Cabinet Minister who double as an MP, but one notch below the Speaker of parliament, so if a Speaker has three vehicles Chief of Staff is two.
When you come to a senior presidential adviser, it is put at the level of a Cabinet Minister who doubles as an MP; presidential advisor is put at the level of a cabinet minister who is not an MP.
The presidential staffer is at the rank of a none cabinet Minister who is not a member of parliament, while a presidential aid is put at the level of deputy minister”, he added.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com