The Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has raised concerns over what he describes as a significant and unexplained increase in the 2026 compensation budget for the Office of the Government Machinery (OGM).

In a Facebook post on November 24, 2025, he criticised the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), arguing that the party had, in 2024, portrayed the Akufo-Addo administration as having bloated the compensation and salaries budget for the Presidency.

He said the NDC at the time accused the government of increasing the number of presidential staffers to ‘ridiculous levels,’ which they claimed accounted for the GH¢327 million allocated in 2024.

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Osei Nyarko, however, said the current government has presented a much higher allocation for the same expenditure line.

According to him, the Mahama administration has earmarked GH¢541 million for compensation at the Presidency in the 2026 Budget, an increase of GH¢214 million, representing a 65.4 percent jump within its first year in office.

He argued that the number of workers at the Presidency has also expanded under the current administration, contradicting earlier claims by the NDC that the Akufo-Addo government had inflated staff numbers.

“If many Ghanaians and some CSOs at the time described the GH¢327 million compensation budget under Akufo-Addo as bloated and insensitive, how will they now describe the GH¢541 million allocated for 2026?” he asked.

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The MP further called on the government to explain the surge in the OGM headquarters compensation allocation, questioning the administration’s commitment to its promise of running a lean government.

“Honesty in politics is very important and critical. Time will be the best vindicator,” he added.

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