The Member of Parliament for Wa West Constituency in the Upper West Region and retired senior police officer, Hon. Peter Toobu Lanchene advises President Akufo-Addo to skip the appointment of Deputy Ministers for a year.

According to him, paying salaries and taking care of Deputy Ministers with taxpayer’s money will put yet another burden on the Ghanaian economy which has already been hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In an era of COVID-19 and ballooned-debt economy, can’t the President of Ghana skip the appointment of Deputy Ministers for a year to cut down on government expenditure for the financial year ending 31st December 2021?” he stated in a Facebook post sighted by GhanaVanguard.com.

Hon. Toobu however, suggests that Chief Directors in the various ministries should be made to carry out the duties of Deputy Ministers.

He added that skipping the appointment of Deputy Ministers for the year 2021 will in a way lessen the burden of the public purse for the 2021 financial year.

“Chief Directors could play the role of Deputy Ministers for a year as we search for economic stability due to the devastating effects of COVID-19.

Let’s calculate the savings we can make in a year without the appointment of about 30 Deputy Ministers. How can we be taxing the poor who are already in hardship to be able to feed others who are self-sustaining?” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the President has discontinued the appointment of Deputy Regional Ministers in a move to save the public purse.

This was announced in a letter from the presidency months ago. The move was widely lauded by Ghanaians.