President John Mahama has directed that prepaid meters be installed in the official residences of all ministers and presidential staff.

A statement signed by the Minister for Information & Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga, stated that all members of the executive are also to be responsible for the payment of their utility bills.

The directive was issued at Thursday's cabinet meeting when the president realized during discussions on the new utility tariffs that "there was some confusion in the policy covering the payment of utility bills by ministers. While utility bills of some ministers were paid by their ministries, others paid their bills themselves".

As part of the president's directive, arrears of bills prior to an appointee moving into residence would be debited to the various ministries and the prepaid meters installed.

The directive, according to Ayariga, will help improve the financial health of the utility companies and reduce the huge debts owed them by government.

The statement hinted that the 2014 budget will extend the measure to cover other categories of senior public servants.