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Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Asante, the Director of Policy Engagement and Advocacy at the Centre for Democratic Development in Ghana (CDD Ghana), has once again called for the government to be smaller.
He contends that the President could have done more to represent the period of austerity the country is bringing Ghanaians into, rather than only keeping the 30% pay cut for ministers.
Dr. Kojo Asante stated, “Now the cuts to basic salary as we even showed in our press conference what comes with being a Minister is even more, just the fuel for fueling V8s… if we begin to impose a tax on that.” Dr. Kojo Asante was speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express.
“They might be symbolic, they might not be the ones that will reduce your external debt or whatever, but it’s symbolic. Let not people see the profligacy and all of those things people have to live within their means.”
He continued by saying that following the suggestion of civil society organizations to cut back on the number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in his cabinet would have been beneficial for the administration.
He asserted that the President would have benefited from taking these severe measures to increase morale and support given that the present ranking of the President’s trust rating is the lowest since the Afrobarometer report’s inception in 1999.
“We’ll need fewer ministers. Why we need three deputy ministers in certain locations and just two in others is something I do not comprehend. That can be diminished. These are crucial efforts to raise morale.
I don’t understand why the government is reluctant to handle it because if it doesn’t, it will fall into a credibility chasm.
“Anyone who has watched [interactions on social media] after the President’s address has seen all kinds of responses… so if government does not see and comprehend that there is this gap, and this gap needs to be filled.
I don’t know what the folks are looking at whether they’re going to go with you,” he remarked.
In response to President Akufo-speech Addo’s on the nation’s present economic issues, Dr. Kojo Asante said.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
