President Mahama has scrapped fuel allowances for all appointees
The Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President, Dr Sharif Mahmud Khalid, has provided a projected breakdown of how much Ghana would save, following the cancellation of fuel allowances.
According to him, the government could save over GH¢121 million in the next four years, per conservative estimates, using fuel consumption data and the current cost of petrol at the pumps.
He used a total of 1000 cars and an estimated 50 litres of fuel weekly per government appointee.
“Ballpark, this is what I did in the studio using GOIL’s figures. I looked at 4×4 and salon vehicles, and cross-country. So let’s say 500 of saloon cars, 500 of 4x4s… probably 50 litres of fuel for saloon vehicles a week per government appointee.
“If you crunch the numbers a bit… on average, the government will be saving probably about a total of GH¢2.5 million plus a month and GH¢30 million plus a year,” he said as quoted by myjoyonline.com.
He noted that the savings from the president’s directive can be used to tackle various socio-economic challenges in the economy.
“In four years, we’re probably talking about the government saving GH¢121 plus million in four years. A maternity block for a hospital or clinic costs probably about GH¢1.5 million… we could probably get an average of 81 of them out of the savings,” he noted.
Dr Khalid vehemently opposed the notion that the policy directive is a mere PR gimmick, saying the government could potentially build “303 CHPS compounds” or “121 six-unit classroom blocks” if each were to cost GH¢1 million.
“These were things I think we could do before we actually want to say whether it’s a PR gimmick or not. I’m not saying this is what the government is doing. I’m just trying to give the holistic picture of what expectations we could have, and the savings we could make if we actually adhere to this policy,” he said.
Effective July 16, 2025, the president withdrew fuel coupons and allowances for government appointees.’
According to him, this is aimed at saving costs and burden-sharing among public officials.
SSD/MA
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