An Economist and Head of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr. Godfred Bokpin is calling on President Mahama to downsize his government to help save the country’s economy.

This according to him is necessary in order to cut down the cost involved in maintaining government appointees. The country recently signed on to a 3-year IMF programme to address some key fiscal and technical challenges the economy is plagued with.

Speaking with Joy News, Dr. Bokpin said a lean government is necessary, especially in difficult times like this, to bolster public confidence. He indicated that financing such large number of government officials obviously takes a toll on the country’s scarce revenues.

“I know politicians will not be happy about this but I think that it is something that we should look at. We can start discussing these issues without political colours and ask ourselves whether it’s sustainable to keep spending so much on public officials. If it is not then we should be able to come to terms with it and take some step to save the country some money for development,” he added.

Dr. Bokpin said, efforts by government to reform public sector payrolls among others could go a long way in the generation of some savings for the country hence should be critically considered.

“If you just look at how much it costs us to maintain a minister or a deputy minister, reducing that by about 20% is not just a lot of savings but would also give Ghanaians a cause to be confident in the government that it is responsive to the challenging times,” he concluded.