998 Presidential Staffers: Their output should be our focus, not numbers – Prof. Adei

Rather than focus and chastise government for the large number of Presidential Staffers it has implored under its administration, Ghanaians should focus on what services these persons stand to provide for the country, what they have to offer and what the country stands to gain as a result, outspoken academician Professor Stephen Adei has said.

A list from President Akufo-Addo revealing a total of 998 people working at the seat of government, the Jubilee House in Accra has sparked huge public discourse . The revelation made in accordance with Section 11 of the Presidential Office Act, 1993 (Act 463) which requires the President to submit a report on the staffing position of the Office of the President annually was met with mixed reactions from the public, majority of Ghanaians expressing worry over the implications of the figure on the public purse.

While critics have accused government of failing on its promises to protect the public purse with the huge numbers it has implored under its government, some government officials in defense have maintained that the number though high is having less effect on the public purse compared to the 678 figure under the Mahama administration.

Speaking on the issue on Starr FM Monday, Prof Adei indicated that priority should be on what and how much output these staffers are producing rather than just discuss the numbers.

“On the surface, almost 1000 presidential staffers seems too big. The big questions is, what are they doing? In these things, the numbers per se are not the most important because it’s about input and output. The line of interrogation should be what the number of staffers are producing and not just talk about the numbers. I think Ghanaians must demand accountability,”