Executive Director of Ghana Institute of Governance and Security(GIGS) David Agbee claims President Akufo-Addo’s 110 ministers are using their stay in public office to reimburse themselves of monies they spent on the President’s campaign before his election.

According to him, the President through his appointment has given the ministers an opportunity to recoup whatever amount of money they dolled out to support his campaign.

President Akufo-Addo runs the largest government since independence.

Many Ghanaians continue to criticize Akufo-Addo for the appointments, which they say is putting unnecessary strain on the country’s finances. However the president has said that he needs a big team to enable him deliver on his promises to the country.

Speaking to Kasapa News, on whether there’s the need for the President to cut down on the number of ministers through a reshuffle exercise, David Agbee said the reduction of the large size of government is very necessary, adding that the president himself is fully aware of this fact.

“We all know how long it has taken the president to be a leader of this country and we know that people contributed financially to his campaign. So most of the ministers who got appointment, it was a form of compensation given them by the President, so that they can also eat and recoup whatever they spent on him. If this were not the fact behind the appointment of 110 ministers, there’s no way President would have formed such a large government. He himself knows from his days as Foreign Affairs Minister and Attorney General that Ghana doesn’t need more than 90 ministers.

“This appointment amounts to depleting the public purse, but because of the contributions made by people towards the President’s campaign of which he compiled a list of contributors, under the circumstance, the President hands were tied and could not appoint less than this number. Some of us are all for the reduction in number of the ministers because it costs the country a lot to pay them.”

The state will pay GHS20, 211, 048 per annum as salaries for President Nana Akufo-Addo’s ministers and their deputies.

This implies that at the end of the four-year mandate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, the country would have spent a total amount of GHS 80, 844, 192 on salaries alone. The 110 ministers comprise 50 substantive ministers, including regional ministers, and 60 deputies.

The summary of the salary estimates was based on figures from a recommendation in a report of Presidential Committee on Emoluments signed by Prof Dora Francisca Edua-Buandoh, which announced a 10 per cent raise from January 2017.

Below is the list of Article 71 office holders and their respective salaries per the 10% raise:

Vice President – GH¢ 20,529

Chief Justice – GH¢17,107

Speaker of Parliament – GH¢ 17,791

Cabinet Minister (MP) – GH¢16,423

Cabinet Minster (Non MP) – GH¢ 16,195

Minister of State (MP) – GH¢ 15,967

Minister of State (Non MP) – GH¢ 15,739

Regional Minister (MP) – GH¢ 15,967

Regional Minister (Non-MP) – GH¢15,511

Deputy Minster (MP) – GH¢ 14,826

Deputy Regional Minister (MP) – GH¢14,598

Deputy Minister (Non-MP) – GH¢ 14,369

Dep. Regional Minster (Non-MP) – GH¢ 142,142

Chairman, Council of State – GH¢ 14,826

Member, Council of State – GH¢ 13,685