Information Minister-designate Mustapha Hamid has stated that President Nana Akufo-Addo never promised a lean government during the electioneering period.
President Akufo-Addo has come under heavy criticism after he announced 36 ministers with deputy and regional ministers yet to be named. His government is on course to be the largest government ever in the history of Ghana.
Critics of the NPP have argued that the size of Akufo-Addo’s ministers are too many and would be a drain on the national purse.
But Hamid, who doubles as the Spokesperson for the President, in an interview on Class FM Friday said, the president only promised an efficient government and not a lean one.
“I don’t remember anywhere that we promised a lean government. We never said that. We promised a government that is efficient, that will deliver, that will protect the integrity of the state and protect the public purse, that’s what we promised. We didn’t promise a lean government,” he stated.
Mr. Hamid added: “every president has his vision and his understanding of how the nation should go, and, therefore, it is the vision that determines the number of ministers that would be required to deliver on that vision.
“So, I don’t think that we should box ourselves into an utopia of lean government which at the end of the day superintends more waste and more corruption than anybody can imagine,”
