PRESS STATEMENT 9th June 2010

CLAIM OF GH¢8 MN CEDIS SAVINGS ANNUALLY IS FALSE!

Government’s claim that it is saving GH¢8 million annually from its cost cutting measures is completely false. It comes on the hills of a recent false claim that 1.6 million jobs have already been created by government within a year in office. In the case of the said savings, the following are the facts from the 2009 and 2010 budget statements presented by the NDC government:

1. A total of GH¢2.64 billion was spent on Administration, Service and Wages in 2008 by the NPP administration. This is from paragraphs 80, 81 and 82 of the 2009 budget statement presented by the NDC government.

2. In 2009, under the NDC government, a total of GH¢2.92 billion was spent on the same Administration, Service and Wages. This is also from the 2010 budget statement (page 31) presented by the NDC government.

3. What this means is that, in spite of government’s claim of expenditure cutting, the operational cost of the NDC government is higher than that of the previous NPP government. So, where is the savings?

4. This increase in the cost of operating government is even more serious against the fact that the Mills Administration slashed investment in infrastructure such as sports stadia, roads, housing, schools and others, leading to a reduction in domestic capital expenditure from GH¢1 billion in 2008 to a mere GH¢260 million in 2009 (reduction of 75%).

5. So long as we continue to spend on committees and commissions, ever-increasing number of political appointees, workshops, sitting allowances, per diems and the like, the administrative cost of operating government will continue to rise while investment in critical infrastructure continues to shrink.

6. Let us have an honest review of our economic management strategies. This is not the time for propaganda.

Kwaku Kwarteng Communications Director