Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, The Minister of Information, says Parliament does not believe the size of government should be reduced.
According to him, Parliament’s confirmation of the six ministerial appointees demonstrated that, contrary to popular assumption, a reduction in government size was not required to reduce spending.
“From what I understand, parliament does not even share that viewpoint.” You witnessed what happened in parliament the last time the question was literally put on the table.
“Despite all of the discussions the last time it was brought up, you saw the numbers.” So parliament as a body does not even share that position,” Mr Nkrumah remarked on The Probe on Sunday.
The Minister further stated that under the current administration, those nominated as ministers do not receive additional compensation for their post.
He added that this was because the ministers were already paid as Members of Parliament.
As a result, he emphasized that citizens bear no additional expense if the government decides to raise the number of Ministers, explaining why Parliament did not agree with the populace’s viewpoint.
“It doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything extra because they are paid as Members of Parliament,” Mr Nkrumah said again.
Furthermore, the minister indicated that in meetings with Ghana’s external creditors, the size of government was never identified as a justification for the increased government expenditure that he was privy to.
He did, however, promise that the government was prepared and open to various methods to reduce spending.
“There has already been action on various levels, and I have stated that the door is not closed to further cuts as they are being investigated.” And as we go through and look further, we’ll see where we can make some more savings. “It makes sense to make those cuts,” Mr Nkrumah told Emefa Apaw, the host.
Source: myjoyonline.com