Ransford Gyampo, an associate professor in the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana wants the government to show evidence that the salaries of all political appointees have been reduced by 30%. Prof. Gyampo said he was unable to trust that the salaries had been cut because of the opulent lifestyles of some government appointees.
“Mr President, unless we see the pay slip of appointees, we are unable to trust the refrain that their salaries have been reduced by 30%.” “We live with them and know their opulent lifestyles haven’t changed even in the days of hardship. We need evidence,” Gyampo said in a Facebook post. In March 2022, Gyampo called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to reduce the size of his government and slash the salaries of appointees by 30%.
Gyampo also wanted the government to reduce certain taxes on fuel to help shield Ghanaians from the worst effects of the recent hike in fuel prices on both the domestic and international markets. These proposals appeared in a nine-point list, set out in an open letter to the president amid the economic challenges in the country.
The government subsequently slashed expenditure by 30%. The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the government will save about GHC3.5 billion from the 30% salary cut of ministers, heads of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other expenditure-cut measures.
Addressing the country on measures being taken to curb the economic challenges Ghana is facing, Ofori-Atta said: “With regard to savings, in terms of our initial calculations of all of that [the salary cut] will be about GHC3.5 billion that we expect to be able to save.
“But we’ll keep titrating and tightening it to ensure that we get as much [as we can] from that,” he said. Cabinet earlier approved a proposal that ministers and the heads of SOEs contribute 30% of the salary they earn between April and December 2022 to the Consolidated Fund.
Members of the Council of State have also agreed to a 20% cut to their monthly allowance for the next year to support efforts aimed at stabilising the economy. According to the Council of State, the contribution is their widow’s mite to support the overall effort being made by the government to spur economic recovery.
