998 Staffers: Akufo-Addo ripping apart public purse – Apaak

A former Presidential staffer, Dr. Clement Apaak has stated that the number of staffers at the Jubilee House is an indication that president Akufo-Addo does not care about protecting the public purse.

The Office of the President has revealed that it has 998 employees, including Ministers of State, Presidential Staffers and junior Political Appointees.

The number is some 220 staff more than the 778 employees presented to parliament by the erstwhile John Mahama administration in 2013.

According to the report released to Parliament on the staffing position of the Office of the President for the period January 7, 2017, to December 31, 2017, the office had nine Ministers of State, 27 presidential staffers, 256 Junior Political Appointees and 706 civil and public servants.

But speaking on the Morning Starr Monday, Dr. Apaak told sit-in host Kweku Obeng Adjei that the list is filled with people duplicating roles at the presidency.

“Why would you need multiples of technical advisors whiles you have appointed 110 ministers with multiple deputies…I cannot understand why you would need 7-8 technical advisors. Quite clearly, this is not the best way to go by issues,” the Builsa North MP said.

Dr. Apaak added that there could be more names at the Presidency that were not added to the list which could have bloated it to over 1000 people.

“There could be about 100 more names who are in the pipeline for verification,” Dr. Apaak said, adding “Presidential staffers are regarded as article 71 office holders,” which could put pressure on the public purse considering the number at the Jubilee House.