President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his commitment to running a lean government, stating that only 30 political appointees currently serve at the Jubilee House.
He emphasized that this aligns with his promise to reduce government expenditure and ensure better efficiency.
At the swearing-in ceremony of newly approved ministers and deputy ministers on March 12, Mahama clarified that out of the 30 political appointees, 27 are presidential staffers, and three are directors of key government initiatives, all pending approval from the Council of State.
“This commitment to a lean government is reflected in the appointments made at the presidency so far,” Mahama explained.
In response to allegations from Damongo MP Samuel Abu Jinapor, who claimed that Mahama’s government had exceeded the number of appointments, Mahama refuted the claims, noting that the previous administration had 336 political appointees at the presidency alone.
“We are currently recruiting supporting staff to fully operate the presidency, but the numbers will never reach the high levels seen under the previous government,” Mahama assured.
The president also mentioned that he would submit the final batch of four deputy ministers this week, bringing the total number of ministers to 60, as promised. So far, 56 ministers have been appointed and approved by Parliament.
Mahama expressed gratitude to Parliament for the fast approval process, calling it the quickest in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. “We’ve achieved the earliest approval of ministers by Parliament, enabling them to begin their work on delivering our promises to Ghana,” he added.