President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has described President John Mahama’s decision to scrap fuel allowances for political appointees as a good initiative, but one that was poorly executed.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show, Mr. Cudjoe said the move, although commendable, appeared rushed and lacked proper planning and communication.
“It’s a good thing, but you don’t take people unaware. It was too haphazard. There was no proper communication, and it looked like it was done in the spur of the moment,” he said.
President Mahama, on Monday, July 15, cancelled the payment and distribution of fuel to all political appointees as part of broader efforts to reduce government spending and promote fiscal discipline.
While supporting the policy in principle, Mr. Cudjoe cautioned that such sudden directives could bring unintended consequences.
“This will bring some financial burden on the appointees. Some may even resort to dubious means to get fuel,” he warned.
He noted that about 70 percent of the motivation behind the announcement may have been to divert attention from the controversial GH₵1 levy recently introduced on petroleum products.
“They did this partly to douse the heat from the GH₵1 levy. It’s just a political campaign gimmick. But even if it is populist, it’s not necessarily in a negative way, he claimed.
Mr. Cudjoe, however, expressed concern that there was no strategic plan accompanying the announcement.
“There is no plan for it. In the end, the savings might just end up in the Consolidated Fund without addressing the bigger issue of public sector waste,” he said.
According to him, a more thoughtful approach was needed.
“If they really wanted to reduce waste in the public sector, they should have sat down to analyse the full impact. Government appointees should be allowed some comfort, so there should’ve been some interaction with them to assess the implications,” he advised.
He concluded by saying, “Yes, we may make some savings, but this is not an emergency that demanded this kind of hasty action. That’s not the way to go.”
Source: Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy
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