Minister of State in Charge of Government Communications and Member of Parliament for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has refuted claims about the government’s budget allocation and staffing numbers at the Office of the President.
Speaking on State of Affairs with Joshua Kodjo Mensah, he challenged assertions made by former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and government spokesperson Gideon Boako regarding the size and cost of government operations.
According to Kwakye Ofosu, the Office of the President has a total staff strength of 11,657, a number that includes personnel transferred from various agencies under the National Security Ministry and the Ministry of Information. He clarified that only 416 staff members are directly employed under the presidency, while the majority come from agencies absorbed into the Office of Government Machinery (OGM).
“If in the past, 1,200 people were costing you GHS 326 million, it stands to reason that if this number has increased to 11,657, the cost will rise. In fact, the 2024 budget allocated GHS 1.28 billion to National Security alone for compensation,” he explained.
Kwakye Ofosu criticized Oppong Nkrumah and Gideon Boako for misrepresenting figures, stating that they lacked knowledge of the actual number of agencies under the presidency. He noted that the former Information Minister wrongly claimed there were only eight agencies, while budget documents show otherwise.
The Minister also debunked claims that the Information Ministry operated on a budget of only GHS 10 million during the previous administration. Citing Appendix 4E of the 2024 budget, he revealed that the ministry had an allocation of GHS 262 million, which covered:
• Compensation: GHS 148 million
• Goods and Services: GHS 8 million
• Capital Expenditure: GHS 17 million
He alleged that the additional GHS 10 million allocated during the previous administration was used for political communication rather than official government functions.
“That money was used to pay communicators who were not government officials. It funded the bots on social media, the abusive campaigns against critics, and the fake news flyers that circulated online. If you ask them to account for that money today, they cannot,” he stated.
Kwakye Ofosu also highlighted funding challenges within state media agencies, including Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Ghana News Agency (GNA), and the Information Services Department (ISD). He disclosed that these three institutions, which employ about 2,500 staff members, received an inadequate allocation of GHS 78.8 million for goods and services and capital expenditure in 2024.
He pointed out that GBC alone requires GHS 36 million to expand operations to the six newly created regions, as mandated by law, but lacks the necessary budget.
“There are parliamentarians who know this but still claim my office was given GHS 8.8 million just to buy A4 sheets. That is a pedestrian, ignorant argument,” he said.
