Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has yet again lamented the number of political appointees at the presidency, indicating that the bloated Akufo-Addo government is obscene.
According to him, there is the need for government to accept that the current number of appointees in government does not augur well for the country, especially in the current economic crisis. To this end, he urged government to resolve to addressing the challenge and not justify its actions.
“Nothing can change the ignominious fact that President Akufo-Addo has packed the presidency in obscene ways never done by any of his predecessors.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Mr Ablakwa stated that it’s exceedingly difficult to understand these “restless hoaxers” who expect him to produce the 2016 Presidential Staffers list when Parliament has no such record. He questioned whether the opposition MPs want him to create his own version as they have done.
The North Tongu legislator indicated that government’s discredited 2016 document claims that the Mahama presidency had 185 political appointees, in a bid to justify its own appointees. However, he questioned whether the opposition is so “desperate and confused” that it can’t appreciate that 185 is far lower than the 361 political appointees President Akufo-Addo has appointed.
Additionally, he noted that it is rudimentary to know that even if that “miserable looking document is accurate”, President Akufo-Addo has exceeded by 176 the alleged 185 during President Mahama’s era.
“I am even more surprised that they do not recognize that per Section 11 of the Presidential Office Act, 1993 (Act 463), President Akufo-Addo who took over power on January 7, 2017 around the same time the 7th Parliament was inaugurated had the legal obligation of presenting the 2016 Annual Report on Staffing at the Office of the President between January and March 2017. It couldn’t have been President Mahama’s duty as he was no longer occupying that office. Just too many own goals from these amateur propagandists.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Annual Reports on Presidential Office Staff
In his bid to see to the resolution of the matter, Mr Ablakwa stated that he shall humbly appeal that Ghanaians keep the discourse elevated, when it comes to the legitimacy of Ghana’s size of government, particularly during this economic crisis and determine whether it’s acceptable. To this end, he quizzed whether Presidents should be allowed to engage just any number of political appointees at the Presidency at considerable cost to the suffocating Ghanaian taxpayer.
“Why is the Council of State allowing this abuse and the creation of all these dubious positions since the law stipulates that they must be consulted? Isn’t it time to amend the Presidential Office Act and place a cap on the number of staff, particularly political hirelings at the office of the president? Let’s think about the only country we have, the precedents we are permitting and the implications for the future.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Prior to this, Mr Ablakwa revealed that all Annual Reports on Presidential Office Staff which he relies on for empirical trend analysis are duly signed either by Presidents or their Chiefs of Staff. As such, the Annual Reports in issue have been documented by parliamentary records at the Speaker’s Office, Table Office, Hansard and Library Departments as duly received from the Presidency and also have various parliamentary stamps and seals to confirm their authenticity.
“I am reliably informed that some unscrupulous characters who also appear to be arithmetically challenged are desperately circulating all kinds of fake documents on social media in a pitiable and illogical effort at equalization.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Due to the authenticity of the report, Mr Ablakwa urged Ghanaians to ignore and treat with contempt fake, unsigned, unstamped and cheaply fabricated documents which are not recognized by the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana.
He emphasized that political discourse should be anchored on truth, credibility, genuine love for country, refusing to defend the indefensible and setting higher standards in the national interest.
