{"id":1237496,"date":"2022-10-28T17:38:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T17:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/28\/reduce-number-of-ministers-to-below-65-mahama-tells-akufo-addo\/"},"modified":"2022-10-28T17:38:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T17:38:03","slug":"reduce-number-of-ministers-to-below-65-mahama-tells-akufo-addo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/28\/reduce-number-of-ministers-to-below-65-mahama-tells-akufo-addo\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce number of ministers to below 65 – Mahama tells Akufo-Addo"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Former President John Mahama has yet again urged President Akufo-Addo to reduce the size of his government to \u201creflect the necessities of the time and the need for modesty and prudence.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, President Akufo-Addo has been inconsiderate in keeping a large government, a situation that has contributed largely to the country\u2019s \u201cexcessive public expenditure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the nation at a public lecture on Thursday, October 27, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) called on the President to cut down the number of his ministers to below 65.<\/p>\n

\"Reduce
Former President John Mahama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA big contributor to the excessive public expenditure is the sheer size of the government. President Akufo-Addo has been particularly irresponsible in keeping a needlessly large government. At a point, we had over 120 ministers in his government with hundreds of political appointees at the presidency and others attached to ministries and state organizations.<\/p>\n

While the President has cut down this number, there is still room for a further reduction, including merging some ministers to reduce expenditure and cut down the number of ministers to below 65,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Expenditure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Mahama also entreated government to bring the country\u2019s public expenditure within acceptable limits.<\/p>\n

He observed that the 30% cut in expenditure across board, which was announced by the Finance Minister, was ineffective.<\/p>\n

As a result, he noted that some austerity measures ought to be taken to ensure that \u201cthe reckless and frivolous spending of our scarce national resources\u201d is checked properly.<\/p>\n

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The former President said, \u201cIt is simply not possible to live beyond our means and avoid the kind of economic turmoil we are in today. A fundamental principle in economic management is fiscal discipline even in times of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrastic action must, therefore, be taken to reverse the cycle and bring public expenditure within acceptable and prudent limits. Government would have to cut expenditure by up to 4% of GDP to create the fiscal space desired to get us out of this economic crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read his full speech below:<\/strong><\/p>\n