Akufo-Addo’s government size smacks of populism – Koku Anyidoho

The appointment made by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is an indication he wants to do only one term in office and still be relevant in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Koku Anyidoho, a Deputy General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said.

According to him, the appointment smacks of populism.

On Wednesday 15 March, the president announced a list of 50 deputy ministers, bringing to 110 his ministers and deputy ministers.

The president has since suffered some flak from a section of the Ghanaian public with critics saying the size of his government will have a toll on the public purse.

Mr Anyidoho, one of the president’s critics, told Emefa Apawu on the 505 programme on Wednesday: “They can appoint one million ministers if they so wish but, for me and for us as a party, this goes to point to the fact that Nana Akufo-Addo is not intending to do two terms.

“He knows he will be a one-term president. What he is engaging in is populism so that by the end of his one term, he can tell the NPP supporters that ‘even in one term, I appointed 110 ministers as opposed to President Kufuor, who did two terms and gave 88 ministers. Let me (Akufo-Addo) just play the populist card, I finish with one term, I am gone but within the rank and file of the NPP I think I will still remain popular’. Because when it comes to the numbers, they will say he came and did only one term, but he gave us 110 ministers and Kufuor gave us only 88 ministers.

“These are persons who a few months ago labelled a government as incompetent. Now here we are, there have been a plethora of new ministries, a plethora of deputy ministers, a plethora of special assistants, a plethora of assigns and hangers-on, yet the fundamentals of the economy are not changing. The dollar is running away from the cedi, petroleum prices are running up in the skies, ‘dumsor’ is coming back, and they are now employing all kinds of consultants.”