John Dramani Mahama has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for failing to reduce the size of his government, which is harming the economy.
He believes the policy is unworkable, and that its implementation is not trackable and thus cannot be seen through.
The government’s directive on the use of V8s and V6s by appointees, according to Mahama, is untenable, and the government will find it difficult to monitor the appointees’ movements.
He charged the government with implementing appropriate measures to reduce spending that has crippled the economy.
“Unfortunately, in this budget, Ghanaians are slapped with stiff additional taxes and no tangible cuts in expenditure. They just say don’t travel with your V8s. If you are traveling outside Accra, you can use your V8, but don’t use it in town. I mean, who’s going to monitor if you use your V8 or not? Expenditure has increased significantly by 80 billion cedis. It appears we have to accept to live with the excessive bloated size of government at the presidency,” the former President said.
Over the weekend, he addressed the 13th Congregation of the Accra Business School.
The Finance Minister during the budget presentation said, “Limited budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles. For the avoidance of doubt, the purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles; Only essential official foreign travel across government including SOEs shall be allowed”
Board members are not permitted to travel abroad on official business. As a result, by mid-December 2023, all government institutions should submit to the Chief of Staff a travel plan for the year 2023 that includes all anticipated travels.
