Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu

The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of committing serious “economic atrocities” during their eight years in power.

He said the previous administration engaged in reckless financial decisions, and incurred “needless judgment debts” that have left the current government under financial stress.

Speaking during the ongoing budget debate in Parliament, Kwakye Ofosu dismissed the opposition’s claim that the current budget had made excessive allocations to the Office of the President.

He clarified that the GH¢2.7 billion allocated to the Office of Government Machinery was primarily for compensation, covering salaries for civil servants.

He explained that under the current administration, the Office of Government Machinery now includes 30 agencies from the previous government.

Additionally, he said, the collapse of seven ministries by President John Mahama has resulted in over 11,600 civil servants being added to the payroll.

He emphasised that while critics claim the budget is bloated, there has actually been a cut of GH¢419 million in goods and services and capital expenditure for the Office of Government Machinery compared to 2024.

Kwakye Ofosu also refuted claims that his office had been allocated GH¢78 million for personal use.

He clarified that the amount was meant for the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the Information Services Department, and the Ghana News Agency, which collectively have 2,537 staff.

According to him, this allocation is insufficient, considering that the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation alone requires GH¢36 million to establish a presence in the six new regions.

He further disputed claims that under the previous administration, the Ministry of Information was given only GH¢10 million, stating that in 2024, the ministry actually received GH¢262 million.

Additionally, he pointed out that the NPP government had a significantly larger communication team at the presidency, with 28 personnel, while the current administration has only seven, handling government communications.

Adding to the debate, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, stated that the economy is now in safe hands and that the government was committed to restoring financial stability.

He assured Parliament that the current administration would work diligently to put Ghana back on the right track.

However, the MP for Akuapem North, Samuel Awuku, strongly disagreed to the assertion, describing the claims of economic mismanagement as “not factual.”

He argued that when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) left power, they among others, handed over 6.1 billion dollars in import cover, whereas the NPP left 8.9 billion dollars.

“You cannot accuse the NPP of mismanaging the economy for eight years,” he stated.

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Retired Colonel Festus Aboagye has levelled serious allegations against former Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, following a recent search of his residence by National Security operatives.

The operation, which has stirred significant controversy, was criticised by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who claimed that personal belongings, including cash and jewellery belonging to Dr Addison’s wife, were taken during the search.

However, according to Rtd. Col. Aboagye, intelligence gathered by the state suggested that Dr Addison had installed electronic surveillance equipment at his residence, allegedly linked to the Bank of Ghana.

This setup, he asserted, enabled the former Governor to monitor activities at the central bank remotely. He maintained that the search was carried out based on this intelligence, implying that the operation was justified.

Speaking in an interview with TV3, Rtd. Col. Aboagye elaborated on the allegations, claiming that sources within National Security had confirmed the existence of what he described as “back door electronic devices” at Dr Addison’s home.

He suggested that these devices were not merely for personal security but were deliberately installed to facilitate covert surveillance of the BoG’s internal affairs.

He further alleged that the ‘destruction’ of Dr Addison’s CCTV camera during the search was, in reality, the removal of a “monitoring wire” used for surveillance purposes.

“Monitoring is a very diplomatic word. This is spying, this is surveillance,” he stated.

He stressed that no former Governor of the BoG had the authority to install surveillance systems that allowed remote monitoring of the bank’s operations.

As of now, Dr Addison or his legal representatives have yet to issue an official response to the claims.

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Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection

The Government, effective March 24, 2025, will pay GH¢265,220,000.00 to households under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

The 350,000 households to receive the support are in 260 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said on Friday.

The joint disbursement is for the 94th (November -December 2024) and 95th (January –February 2025) cycles of the LEAP payments, which would be made by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlements Systems (GHIPSS) to the beneficiaries’ E-Zwich accounts.

The Minister made this known at a press conference in Accra to update the media on the LEAP grant payments.

LEAP is a cash transfer programme, introduced by the Government in 2008, for extremely poor and vulnerable households to reduce poverty and promote access to services and opportunities.

The criteria for eligibility are households with orphans and vulnerable children, the aged/elderly (65 years and above) without support; persons with severe disability who cannot easily work, and extremely poor pregnant women and lactating mothers with infants under one year.

Dr Lartey said one eligible member household would receive GH¢512.00, two-member households would receive GH¢608.00, three-member households, GH¢704.00 and four-member households, GH¢848.00.

She advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the support to enhance their overall well-being, meeting immediate consumption needs and securing their future investment goals.

Beneficiaries are expected to prioritise essential areas such as household nutrition, children’s education, and income-generating activities.

By adopting those positive financial and social practices, LEAP households would contribute to the programme’s objective of reducing poverty and vulnerability through sustained consumption support,” the Minister stated.

She acknowledged that not all households could remain on the programme indefinitely and there might also be the need for new households to be added.

Hence, the Ministry, she said, had started a comprehensive reassessment of all beneficiary households to evaluate their continued eligibility with its results determining the households to remain or graduate from the programme, and the addition of new ones.

Dr Lartey called on stakeholders to support the LEAP reassessment.

She said the Ghana National Households Registry (GNHR), under the Ministry, was also expected to complete its ongoing households’ registration soon, the report on which would assist in better targeting of households to be included.

‘‘We take the opportunity to thank His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for fulfilling his commitment to reducing poverty and vulnerability of Ghanaians by increasing the number of beneficiary households from 350,000 to 400,000 in the budget statement and economic policy for the 2025 financial year,’’ Dr Lartey said.

The Minister said the President, through the Ministry of Finance, increased the allocation for LEAP benefits from GH¢728.8 million to GH¢953.5 million.

She encouraged the citizenry to assist the Ministry to enhance transparency and accountability by engaging them with suggestions and reporting ‘anything untoward’ that would disrupt the set objectives of the programme.

“I want to thank our partners: The World Bank, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office for their continuous support of the LEAP.”

“We are open and still working for more partnerships to help address the gaps in the coverage of the programme,” she added.

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