President John Mahama has ordered the immediate cancellation of fuel allowances and allocations to all political appointees.
The directive, announced by the Government Communications Minister and Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, forms part of the government’s effort to cut costs and redirect scarce public funds into priority development areas.
This latest measure, according to the communique, forms part of austerity initiatives from the Mahama administration. This comes on the heels of significant cuts in the size of government, including a reduction in the number of Ministers and staff at the Presidential Office.
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Other recent belt-tightening actions have included terminating satellite TV subscriptions at the seat of government.
How much is Ghana saving?
Though official figures were not released with the announcement, it is worth noting that, in 2022, the then Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei-Asare, intimated that Ghana saved about ¢52 million from the 50% cut on fuel coupons allocated to government appointees.
The Controller and Accountant General Department, in their 2023 published payroll report, indicated that the total allowance paid to political appointees, bar appointees at State Owned Institutions was ¢9,136,387.60.
The same report puts the fuel allowance of the entire public service in 2023 cost ¢600,180,567.62.
It is also fair to establish that the current Mahama-Naana government has somewhat reduced the number of ministers appointed compared to the erstwhile government, and if the narrative that appointees would be way fewer, Ghana may save less than the numbers from the previous administration due to the small number of appointees.
