Audio By Carbonatix
Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has rejected claims by Damongo Member of Parliament Samuel Abu Jinapor that the Mahama administration has inflated the Office of Government Machinery with political appointees, thereby increasing the government's compensation bill.
In an interview on Joy FM's Top Story on Monday, June 15, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said available data show that the current administration has significantly fewer political appointees under the Office of the President than the previous Akufo-Addo administration.
Responding to comments by Mr Abdulai Jinapor during a discussion on government expenditure and the size of government, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said allegations that the Office of Government Machinery had been overloaded with political appointees were not supported by facts.
“It is not true that we have burdened or loaded the Office of the President,” he stated. “All the political appointees appointed under the Office of the President amount to 233. In 2024, when he was in government as Lands Minister, the total number of political appointees under the Office of the President was 355.”
He said the figures demonstrated that the Mahama administration was operating with fewer political appointees than its predecessor.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu also addressed concerns about staffing levels within the Office of Government Machinery, explaining that the institution now includes approximately 3,000 personnel from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the Information Services Department (ISD), which were previously under the Ministry of Information.
“These are civil servants, not political appointees. They were already drawing salaries before they were moved. Their inclusion does not increase the compensation burden as has been suggested,” he said.
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