“In 2013, I prepared a briefing for the incoming President and also a briefing for the incoming Chief of Staff and the outgoing Chief of Staff...to date the Chief of Staff has not responded...I have staff there that for 14 months have not been working but are being paid and no decision has been taken to either get them gainfully employed or redeployed. They come to work and sit down because there has been a closure of the system…," says Ambassador-designate for the Netherlands, Dr. Tony Aidoo.

Ambassador-designate for the Netherlands, Dr. Tony Aidoo has described as a "useless" debate the debate over the list of Presidential staffers presented to parliament last week.

The presidency in accordance with Section 11 of the Presidential Act 1993 (Act 463) submitted 678 presidential staffers to Parliament.

Moments after the news went viral, some described it as wasteful while others felt it was a job for the boys. But government communicators insist the services of the 678 staffers are needed.

Dr. Tony Aidoo, who is the former Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Presidency, told Suhiyini Alhassan on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji programme that it is better to concentrate on issues of development than engage in such ‘useless debate’.

“This is a useless debate which does not enure to the benefit of the nation. The most important thing is that the President has declared”, he pointed out.

According to him, the numbers often “grow through maladministration and this comes in so many forms: ghost names that are either smuggled because of lack of communication. This type of maladministration definitely causes government payroll to swell…it is a good thing the President has declared this total number of staff at the presidency”.

The outspoken NDC stalwart then gave a personal account of what he believes causes the presidential staff list to swell.

“In 2013, I prepared a briefing for the incoming President and also a briefing for the incoming Chief of Staff and the outgoing Chief of Staff; giving a breakdown of my staff. I followed up with what more or less became a handing over note…to date the Chief of Staff has not responded; three reminders he has not responded. I have staff there that for 14 months have not been working but are being paid and no decision has been taken to either get them gainfully employed or redeployed. They come to work and sit down because there has been a closure of the system…ghost names, staffs that are not properly utilized,” he stated.