Audio By Carbonatix
The opposition NDC has demanded full disclosure on the President's travel expenses which it says are a drain on the public purse.
The NDC National Chairman Kofi Portuphy said at a press conference Thursday, Ghanaians deserves to know how much is paid to his entourage as per diems during official travels.
He accused the president of doing "exactly the opposite" of his promise to protect the public purse.
The NDC expressed worry that the GHC1.5bn allocated to the Presidency is bigger than major ministries even though the government has explained that the budgetary allocations to six new ministries - Zongo and Inner Cities Development, Regional Reorganisation, Railway Development, Business Development, Monitoring and Evaluation and Sanitation - have factored into the budget for the presidency.
He said this figure is more than the Mahama government allocated to the presidency in its entire four-year tenure.
Citing another example of an expenditure the party deems profligate, the NDC chairman pointed out banquets and dinners organised by government.
"On the day of the inauguration alone, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia spent lavishly on three separate and very expensive state banquets and from that day it has been lavish state banquet after state banquets while innocent Ghanaians are dying on a daily basis" for lack of medical care.
He also said the "callous" Akufo-Addo government buys dinner suits from expensive outlets in UK, Italy and France for parties. This is a sign of a tea-party government and not one making serious attempts at addressing Ghanaian challenges.
Kofi Portuphy berated the President for travelling too much calling him a 'legal alien' because he spends more time abroad than at home.
The President has toured countries within the ECOWAS sub-region and other African countries with the what the government has explained is part of steps to open up markets for an aggresive industrialisation.
He rehashed the NDC's long-standing opposition to the size of the NPP government which is a historic 110 ministers and deputies.
Kofi Portuphy noted, several new portfolios are unnecessary. The Railways Development ministry which is different from the Transport ministry, Aviation ministry are examples he cited as an over-elaborate executive over-burdening the taxpayer.
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