President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his commitment to running a lean government, disclosing that only 30 political appointees currently serve at the Jubilee House.
He emphasized that this approach aligns with his pledge to reduce government spending and enhance efficiency in governance.
Mahama’s remarks were in response to claims by Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who alleged that his administration had exceeded its ministerial and presidential staff appointments.
The President rejected these claims, stating that the previous administration had 336 political appointees at the presidency alone.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of newly approved ministers and deputy ministers at the Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday, March 12, Mahama clarified that out of the 30 appointees, 27 are presidential staffers, while three are directors of key government initiatives, all awaiting approval from the Council of State.
“The same commitment to composing a lean government has found expression in the appointments made at the presidency so far,” he stated.
“While we are in the process of recruiting supporting staff to enable the full functioning of our presidency, the numbers will come nowhere near the army of people that were hired under the previous government,” he assured.
Mahama further announced that he will submit the final list of four deputy ministers this week to complete the full complement of 60 ministers as promised.
So far, 56 ministers have been appointed and approved by Parliament.
The President expressed appreciation to Parliament for the swift approval process, describing it as the fastest in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
“We have achieved the earliest approval of ministers by Parliament, enabling them to begin work on rolling out our commitments to Ghana. I wish to thank Mr. Speaker and the honourable members of Parliament for their support,” he added.
