Editor in Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper says the masses will definitely win the debate about president Akufo-Addo’s bloated government but it is up to the appointees to justify the large size of government with palpable results.
Kweku Baako Jnr said all there is to do is to play on the key boards of people’s emotions and they will criticize the size of government but it is the growth in the economy and the delivery of goods and services that will cure the “mischief” that has attended the criticism of appointments made.
The Nana Akufo-Addo government machinery is now 110 with the latest being the nomination of 50 ministers and four ministers of state at the presidency.
It is the biggest ever government in the history of the country with as many as three deputies to five ministerial portfolios including Energy, Information, Agriculture, and Finance.
The sheer size of the government has provoked a huge controversy and criticisms with many questioning the cost involved in running the large sized government.
The government spokespersons have also been vehement in defence of the size of government.
Information Minister Mustapha Hamid insists given the task ahead the president needed a large sized government to fulfill his manifesto promises.
He also suggested that the civil service has failed the country for which reason the president decided to repose confidence in his appointees.
That suggestion courted the anger of some civil servants who have since protested against Mustapha Hamid.
In an attempt to settle the matter, the president himself in an interview on GTV said with time and with the performance of his appointees, there will be growth in the economy and the issue about cost involved in operating a large sized government will be nothing more than a brouhaha.
On Joy FM’s Newsfile programme, Saturday, the issue was once again topical but Kweku Baako Jnr insists the debate about size will always be controversial but the deliverables will be crucial.
“When the number of ministers was 80 is was huge we debated it; when it was 90 we said it was huge and we debated it and now it is 110. It is really very huge,” he admitted.
He argued however, that he has moved beyond the argument about size to the performance in government.
“The numbers is not the issue; it is what the numbers will produce in government,” he pointed out.
He said the most important question is what the president’s vision, mission are; the transformation he intends to bring and what team he needs, the quality and quantity of that team to produce results.
Even though he does not put too much premium on the numbers and size, he was unequivocal that the information ministry did not need three deputies.
He would have accepted the three deputies for Agric, if there was no minister of state of agric at the presidency.
The Executive Director of IDEG Dr Emmanuel Akwetey said even though he is sympathetic towards the vision of the president and wants him to succeed, he does not believe the large sized government is the way to go.
“In translating your manifesto promises into policies, you don’t need more politicians but you need to look more at your bureaucracy,” he said.
He lamented what he said is the growing distrust between the political elite and the bureaucratic elite, something he said must be looked at in order for the government to succeed.