Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has strongly criticised former presidential legal adviser Kow Essuman over claims that the budget for presidential staff under the current administration has ballooned despite a reduction in staff numbers.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, June 11, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said the allegations were inconsistent with the facts surrounding the remuneration of presidential staff.

He stressed that the current administration is operating under salary and conditions approved by Parliament at the end of the previous government’s tenure.

“So on what basis, apart from pure lies and mischief, can a claim of ballooning be made?” Mr Kwakye Ofosu questioned.

He argued that the existing salary structure was inherited from the previous administration and remains unchanged under the current government.

The minister’s remarks were in direct response to Mr Essuman’s assertion that the Presidency’s staffing budget had increased significantly despite lower staff numbers.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu insisted that once arrears owed to former office holders are settled, the total salary expenditure under the current administration would be lower because of the reduction in personnel at the Presidency.