The Chairman of the NDC’s 2020 Manifesto Committee, Professor Danso Boafo has revealed that austere measures will be imposed on ministers and government appointees in their next administration.
According to him, this is in line with the party’s return to its social democratic roots and as such, it will ensure equality, equity, and fairness in society while saving the government cost.
“We need to go back to our social democratic roots. Social democratic rules compel us to engage in the kinds of lifestyles that will ensure equality, equity, fairness and justice in society. And we are going to ensure that whoever we appoint under the John Mahama administration abides by the kinds of austerity measures that we ourselves are going to impose on ourselves”.
Prof. Boafo said, their first move towards imposing measures on themselves will be a total reduction of ministerial appointees from current number of ministers by at least 40 in the NDC administration.
“We’re going to do away with a large number of presidential staffers, ministerial aids and so on and so forth. And we’re going to impose a lot of austerity on our own selves. A minister’s life is not going to be the kind of luxurious life that we are used to seeing.
“We’re cutting a lot of perks, we’re cutting a lot of long convoys, we’re cutting a lot of international travel, business travel, and first class travel. We’re going to cut all these things.”
He acknowledged that recent economic conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic had also informed their decision to take this path to ensure the success of their administration.
“We realize that economic conditions imposed by Covid will compel us to do it otherwise we’ll fail.”
Professor Danso Boafo further revealed that the NDC promise of abolishing the double-track system will be gradual and can only be undertaken after the Mahama government is done expanding school facilities.
“It doesn’t end there what is the purpose of high school education? It is to provide students with quality of education. Under the present condition, under the present circumstances do you really think the students are getting the kind of quality education that you might have received, or I might have received or Nana might have received in the past? The answer is no. So to correct this we have to expand facilities, so we get more facilities and accommodate all of these students who are currently engaged in double track.
Prior to this, John Mahama had expressed his intention to scrap the double track system on assuming office as the president.
“We will abolish the current shift (double track) system, reintroduce the more efficient three-terms per academic year programme, and bring back the emphasis on skills training, technical and vocational education to provide students with more options, as they go forward with their choices in diverse career and aptitude paths”.
