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Despite prior critiques of the previous administration, Tano North Constituency MP and Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee Dr. Gideon Boako has criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s administration of spending excessively.
According to Dr. Boako, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, and especially Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has not lived up to its rhetoric about lean governance.
According to Dr. Boako, the NDC harshly criticized the administration of former President Akufo-Addo for funding the Office of the President and keeping a sizable government.
“The NDC, particularly Ato Forson, made a lot of noise about the size of Akufo-Addo’s government and the budget that was allocated to the Office of the President,” he stated.
Although he praised the initiative to reduce the number of ministries, he anticipated a comparable reduction in overall government expenditures, particularly in keeping with the NDC’s pledges to lower taxes and expenses.
Dr. Boako did, however, draw attention to what he called a discrepancy in the government’s budget proposals.
“Akufo-Addo spent a total of 250 billion cedis in 2024. Mahama wants to spend 290 billion in 2025,” he disclosed.
On Tuesday, March 11, he appeared on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana in Accra and made these revelations.
He maintained that the government’s commitment to economic efficiency and fiscal restraint is called into question by this dramatic increase in spending.
Given the Mahama administration’s promise to reduce spending while controlling income shortages, the Tano North MP also questioned how it plans to balance revenue and expenditure.
“Ato Forson said they will stop the bleeding, but that is not even the case,” he remarked.
Appendix 4a of the budget statement on page 133, according to Dr. Boako, allots GHc2.7 billion for compensation at the office of government machinery in 2025. In contrast, President Akufo-Addo utilized GHc327 million for the same office in 2024.
Dr. Boako further said that the GHc78 million cedi and GHc70 million cedi budgets for the Office of the President’s government communications and research departments, respectively, are significantly more than the funds allotted to nearly five miniseries under President Akufo-Addo. He queries where are of the spending reductions.
In order to guarantee that national resources are managed responsibly, Dr. Boako advised Ghanaians to demand accountability and conduct a critical analysis of the government’s financial management.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
