Ntim Fordjour criticises GH¢2.7 billion allocation to Office of Government Machinery

The Member of Parliament for Assin South and former Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour, has expressed strong concerns over the budget allocation for the Office of Government Machinery in Ghana’s 2025 budget estimates.

In a post on X on March 13, 2025, Ntim Fordjour criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s decision to allocate GH¢2.7 billion to the Office of Government Machinery, describing it as a move to “create, loot, and chop” public funds.

In his post, Ntim Fordjour compared the current allocation with the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration’s spending, highlighting that the NPP government despite being criticised by the NDC as ‘large’, spent only GH¢327 million on the same office.

He argued that the NDC’s so-called “lean” government, comprising 60 ministers and a reduced presidential staff, has paradoxically allocated a staggering GH¢2.7 billion, over eight times the previous amount—placing an undue burden on Ghanaian taxpayers.

"NPP ‘large’ government spends GH¢327 million on the Office of Government Machinery and yet it was deemed as ‘wasteful,’ so yaanom decided to try a ‘lean’ government. Meanwhile, NDC’s so-called lean government of 60 ministers and ‘lean’ presidential staffers decide to spend GH¢2.7 billion on the Office of Government Machinery.

"May they be reminded that what matters to Ghanaians is not the rhetoric and optics but the numbers—the actual burden on the public purse. We wish them well as they create, loot, and CHOP the GH¢2.7 billion.

"Let’s not forget the roads, hospitals, and schools that the EXCESS of GH¢2.4 BILLION they’re going to CHOP could have built for mother Ghana," he wrote.

President John Dramani Mahama, in line with his party’s 2024 campaign promise, has reaffirmed his commitment to running a lean government to reduce expenditure, including appointing only 60 ministers.

Ntim Fordjour’s remarks come in response to the 2025 budget statement delivered by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson on March 11, 2025, outlining the NDC’s economic policies and fiscal plans following their return to power in the December 2024 general elections.

The Office of Government Machinery includes the Office of the President, the Vice President’s Secretariat, and allied offices such as the Chief of Staff’s Office.

NPP ‘large’ government spends Ghc327 million on office of government machinery and yet it was deemed as ‘wasteful’ so yaanom decided to try a ‘lean’ government. Meanwhile, NDC’s so-called lean government of 60 ministers and ‘lean’ presidential staffers decide to spend Ghc2.7… pic.twitter.com/ylBeagClFM

— John Ntim Fordjour MP (@NtimFordjour) March 13, 2025