A year ago
Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, the general secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to scale back the size of his administration.
Mr. Kwetey chastised the President for cutting back on his administration while still imposing haircuts on investors and civilians. He claimed that although the minority, civil society groups, and the diplomatic community have all voiced concerns about the size of government, they have mostly gone unheard.
Mr. Kwetey referred to the president as "a beggar with choice" and asked him to do something about the size of his administration in an interview with JoyNews.
He stated: "Make an effort to reduce the size of your government." The fact that we even have a scenario where the President and his government do not want to have what we term a "government haircut" is tragic because that is what you want to do in light of all these crises and the country's suffering.
"For instance, the German embassy will inform you that you are approaching us begging us to assist you in receiving debt forgiveness. Yet you are maintaining the size of the government in our nation, even though we do not support your use of the tax dollars paid by our citizens. The President then informs them haughtily that they shouldn't interfere with Ghana's situation, a beggar with a selection.
"You're on your hands and knees pleading for assistance, yet you still possess the haughtiness to be able to talk in such a way. Stop being so haughty; get down on your knees and demonstrate that you're actually in difficulty before you beg for assistance. The President and his administration should thus be allowed to take action in that area. Take action to reduce the size of your government, he advised.
He further disclosed that the Minority in Parliament had been told to vehemently oppose the President's nominees for ministerial positions until the President reduced the size of his administration.
Even though voting would take place in a secret ballot, Mr. Kwetey expressed confidence that his MPs, who are aware of the economic difficulties the nation is experiencing, will vote against any candidate for a minister until the President takes action to reduce the size of his cabinet.
According to reports, the German envoy also pushed the government of Ghana to streamline its operations to be eligible for debt forgiveness.
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