Minority Leader pushes for LI to cap Ministers at 65

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has advocated for the enactment of a Legislative Instrument that seeks to create a ceiling of 65 Ministers of State to be appointed by the President as part of public sector reforms.

The magnitude of government spending has come under renewed scrutiny as the Tamale North lawmaker, says the current structure where the President of the Republic makes a number of appointments he pleases should be curtailed.

The size of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government in 2017 rekindled the debate over the right size of governments that will be able to handle the challenges facing the people.

Mr Akufo-Addo’s total appointees of 110, made him the first president ever since independence to have had the largest size of government.

Speaking at the launch of the National Public Sector Reforms Strategy, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, Mr Haruna Iddrisu said the large-sized governments do not favour the Ghanaian economy and hurt the public purse.

“…The size of the government – we need as a country to take a collective consensual position on the size of government in Ghana, and it should be by legislation and supported by two thirds majority of parliament, that at no point again in our country’s history will we accept Ministers exceeding 65, and it should run for all governments and for all Presidents.”

The issue of the size of a workable government has become an albatross in many African countries particularly because the size of a government always has serious implications, or otherwise to the economies of Africa mostly overwhelmed with developmental challenges.