Special Assistants Are Not Permanent Staff - Mac Manu

The Western Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Peter Mac Manu, has stated that all special assistants working at the various ministries throughout the country are not permanent staff.

He said on assumption of office, the NPP government realized that most of the ministries were without substantive chief directors so it was decided that special assistants should be appointed to help the ministers in the day to day running of the ministries.

Speaking on the 'Goodnews FM' super morning show hosted by Ekow Shalders last Thursday morning, Mac Manu dismissed the claim that the appointments of the special assistants were meant to create jobs for the boys.

According to him, some of the special assistants are not even receiving salaries from the state in their capacity as special assistants. He contended that those who are even receiving salaries, what they earn is far less than what they were getting from their private professional capacities.

When asked by his host whether those who are still working but have refused to take salaries are Father Christmas, Mac Manu explained that they are only contributing their quota towards the building of the national economy with their expertise and knowhow.

"Some of the special assistants have their businesses running for them so they are not there to make money as some of the people believe," he told his audience.

The minority chief whip in parliament and a member for Avenor in the Volta Region, Hon. Doe Adjaho, who was on the line from Accra however dismissed the argument advanced by Mr. Manu, saying the appointment of the special assistants by the government was only meant to create jobs for the boys.

Ho. Doe Adjaho, who engaged in a heated argument with the NPP Western regional chairman, said when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in power, the NPP then in the opposition severely criticized the government for what they believed to be overspending by the government.

He said the then opposition NPP did not end there but went ahead to assure Ghanaians that when they are given the mandate to rule the country, they would cut down the government expenditure in order to save money to develop the country.

Hon. Adjaho therefore did not understand the reason why the government should go ahead to appoint special assistants to help the ministers when we have directors at the various ministries to carry out such a function.

He wondered whether this is the kind of expenditure the government promised Ghanaians that it would cut.

The minority chief whip further told his host that he was not convinced with the contention of Mac Manu that the special assistants were appointed because of the absence of the substantive chief directors at the ministries.

"Even if the substantive chief director is not there, he definitely has an assistant who could carry out his functions in his absence," he added.

The young and the energetic Mac Manu, a business tycoon, has meanwhile assured the people from the Western Region that his NPP government would surely develop the region.

He said in an answer to a question that the President himself has said a lot about the region and therefore called on the people to keep their fingers crossed and wait for what the government could do.