General News of Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-04-24
Prof. Ransford Gyampo is a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana
Director at the Centre for European Studies (CES) of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, says some politicians criticizing the controversial 988 workers under the Presidency are being hypocrites.
He said these critics are motivated by the desire to score cheap political points, but in the process have incited ‘ignorant’ members of the public against the government.
According to him, it will be very wrong for anybody to suggest that the 988 staffers were all employed by President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo’s current government.
“Some of the staffers served under former President John Dramani Mahama,” he said
“Our major problem as a country is ignorance, hypocrisy and propaganda; because some of the people criticizing the president are aware that part of the workers at the presidency was engaged under Mahama’s regime before the current government assumed office” the senior political lecturer asserts.
Prof. Gyampo was speaking Monday on Adom FM’s flagship political talk show, Burning Issues, hosted by Akua Boakyewaa Yiadom on concerns raised by a section of the public over what many believe is the high numbers of Presidential staffers.
“We politicize everything in this country, the NDC who just exited power is aware of the numbers they left but they won’t tell Ghanaians the truth but rather engage in propaganda,” he slammed opposition NDC.
President Akufo-Addo in accordance with section 11 of the Presidential Office Act, 1993 (Act 463), presented the list of Presidential staffers to Parliament which a section of the public have described the number as outrageous which will overburden the national purse.
But Prof. Gyampo said although the number is on the higher side, government communicators must explain the role of the various staffers to clear what he described as falsehood and propaganda by the opposition parties.
Old workers sacked
However, contributing to discussions, NDC Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson-Dafeamokpor, said President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo sacked a total of 678 presidential staffers who served under the former President John Mahama regime.
He alleged that the 678 staffers who served under the previous administration were not part of a list submitted to Parliament by the President.
Rockson Dafeamokpor also revealed that a total of 1,679 are currently working at the seat of government, the Jubilee House, as captured in the 2018 budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and not 998 as submitted by the President to Parliament.
Your word against mine
But in a sharp rebuttal, a deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Bobbey debunked claims by the NDC MP that the government has sacked all staffers who served under former president Mahama.
He maintains that over 700 staffers out the 988 were appointed by the previous NDC administration and not Akufo-Addo.
Mr Wireko-Bobbey, who also doubled as MP for Hemang Lower Denkyira, said he is surprised that the NDC is criticizing the list submitted by the President.