Budget of Office of President: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa prudent; Ghana reckless – Economist

Despite Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya being the countries with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they spend less on the Office of Government Machinery (OGM) than Ghana, a chartered economist, Bernard Oduro Takyi, has said.

Mr Takyi speaking on the Accra 100.5 FM's mid-day news on Tuesday, November 2022, argued vehemently that these countries are prudent in their expenditure while Ghana is reckless.

"Neighbouring Ivory Coast, in the wake of the economic downturn has reduced its appointees from 40 to 30 to curtail expenditure," he said.

He noted that Ghana's expenditure on the seat of government is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He added that under the six-year administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Ghana's OGM budget has ballooned.

“The money has catapulted from GHS700 million to GHS3.1 billion”, he observed.

The above-mentioned countries, he noted have large economies and populations bigger than Ghana yet they spend less on their presidency.

He stressed that waste in the Ghanaian system has contributed to the mess the country is experiencing.

His observation dovetails into lamentations by former President John Mahama on the astronomical increase in the budget of the Office of the President.

In a tweet on Tuesday, November 8, Mr Mahama indicated: “The budget for the Office of the President has ballooned over the last six years, from ¢700m to ¢3.1bn in 2022.

“For expenditure rationalization to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office.

“Substantial savings of ¢1bn can be made by slashing the budget.”