Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has admitted that the list of 998 staffers at the presidency is large but Ghanaians should be more concerned about the value they are delivering.
The Presidency has come under intense public criticism submitting a record number of 998 staff to Parliament as personnel working at the presidency, the highest ever by any government.
While some have described the number large and a drain on the public purse, others say the criticisms are unnecessary.
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The government has justified the numbers on the grounds that it is spending less on their remuneration, compared to previous governments.
Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Thursday, Mr. Nkrumah who is also the Member of Parliament for the Ofoase-Ayirebi constituency said the criticisms were a sign of Ghana’s strengthened democracy.
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According to him, the discussions on the matter would skew towards an assessment of value when compared to past governments.
“Today you are finding out that there is a big conversation about what the numbers are; what we need to ask now is the total cost to the public purse and what is the value they are delivering.
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“If we interrogate it some more, we would see whose office of government machinery has cost the taxpayer a lot more and whose office of government machinery has delivered more value to the general public”, he observed.
