"You cannot hide behind lean gov't and increase your Presidential staffers" - Damongo MP criticises Prez. Mahama

The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has criticized President John Dramani Mahama over what he describes as an excessively large government structure, despite claims of running a lean administration.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the MP argued that the President's appointments have significantly increased the financial burden on the national exchequer.

Mr. Jinapor contended that while President Mahama has projected an image of streamlining government to reduce expenditure, the reality paints a different picture.

He accused the President of appointing an unprecedented number of senior presidential advisors, presidential staffers, and aides, thereby bloating the structure of government.

“The Chief of Staff is ranked below the Speaker of Parliament but above a Cabinet Minister who doubles as an MP. A Senior Presidential Advisor enjoys the same rank and benefits as a Cabinet Minister who doubles as an MP. Similarly, a Presidential Advisor is pegged at the level of a Cabinet Minister who is not an MP, while a Presidential Staffer is equivalent to a non-Cabinet Minister. A Presidential Aide is on the same level as a Deputy Minister,” Mr. Jinapor explained.

The Damongo MP provided specific examples to support his claim, citing the appointment of Dr. Valerie Sawyer as Senior Presidential Advisor in charge of Government Affairs.

According to him, Dr. Sawyer enjoys the same salary, emoluments, and conditions of service as a Cabinet Minister who is also an MP.

He further listed multiple presidential appointments, including a Presidential Advisor on the Economy, a Presidential Advisor for the 24-hour Economy, a Presidential Advisor in Special Aid to the President, and a Presidential Advisor on the National Anti-Corruption Program.

Highlighting what he described as duplication of roles, Mr. Jinapor pointed out the contradictions in President Mahama’s approach.

“He tells the country he will not appoint deputy regional ministers, yet he appoints 16 presidential staffers in charge of the 16 regions. As it relates to cost on the national exchequer, these staffers are essentially deputy ministers of state,” he argued.

He also questioned the President’s communications appointments, revealing that the Office of the President has one Presidential Advisor on Media, four Directors of Communication, five Deputy Directors of Communication, two Communication Specialists, five Technical Communication Assistants, one Media Aide, one Assistant Media Liaison Officer, and one Communications Consultant.

“I have done the mathematics, and I want to submit that in terms of cost to the national exchequer, the President has appointed 100 ministers and deputy ministers. You cannot claim to be running a lean government while simultaneously increasing the number of presidential staffers,” he added.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith