General News of Saturday, 21 April 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-04-21
NDC’s Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak
President Nana Akufo-Addo has been criticised for running the Presidency with a staff of 998, believed to be an unprecedented figure.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) legislator for Builsa South constituency in the Upper East region Clement Apaak said the figure undermines the President’s rhetoric of running a frugal government.
“This is not a government that is serious about protecting the public purse”, the former presidential staffer during the Mahama administration told Joy News, Friday.
Of the figure, nine are ministers of state, 27 are presidential staffers, 256 other/junior appointees and 706 are public/civil service staff which include the presidential household.
Under President John Mahama, a list of 678 staffers was presented to Parliament in 2014 while President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2005 presented a list of 692 employees.
President Nana Akufo-Addo’s figure, a record, adds to another record as having appointed the largest ever executive in Ghana’s history. There are 110 ministers and deputies.
Weighing in on the 998 list, Clement Apaak who is “flabbergasted” said it is on the “high side” for the President to staff the Jubilee House with 292 employees who are presidential staffers and junior appointees.
He questioned the rationale behind appointing special assistants to ministers of state who he says have two deputies.
“Some of the designations are truly ridiculous,” the Builsa South MP said.
The political appointees, he said, will qualify for hefty ex-gratia payments which will be a further drain on the taxpayer, he said.
But, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Youth, Organiser Sammy Awuku, has clarified that the largest category in the list, the 706 public and service servants have been working at the presidency even before Akufo-Addo came to power.
He accused the NDC of playing mischief with the list. Mr Awuku said the NDC’s rush to play on public sentiments could backfire when a thorough analysis is done on the list.
In his view, the NDC should leave the matter to the public he described as “better judges” of the president’s promise to check public spending.
Below is a breakdown of the list:
706 Employees of Public Sector Organisations
27 Presidential Staffers
256 Junior Appointees
9 Ministers of State
See the list below