Member of Parliament for Techiman South, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has criticised what he describes as the politicisation of staffing numbers at the Office of the President, arguing that employing Ghanaians should not be a matter of controversy.

Speaking on Citi FM's Eyewitness News on June 10, 2026, the former Local Government Minister weighed in on discussions surrounding the Annual Report on the Staffing Position of the Office of the President, which revealed that 808 people worked at the Presidency between January 1 and December 31, 2025.

According to the report, the figure comprises 585 public servants and 223 political appointees.

A further breakdown showed that the political appointees included four Ministers of State at the Presidency, 39 political staffers and 190 other political appointees.

Commenting on the figures, Korsah argued that the focus should not be on the number of Ghanaians employed but rather on the cost to the state.

“We are where we are because of bad politics. Otherwise, if you follow the conversation, what is wrong with having Ghanaians, even if there were 6,000, working for government under either the NPP or NDC, whether under Akufo-Addo or Mahama?” he asked.

“If the person is not coming from Azerbaijan, Kenya, Togo or elsewhere, what is wrong with that? Creating jobs for Ghanaians should not be a problem,” he added.

The Techiman South MP, however, expressed concern about what he described as a significant increase in expenditure at the Office of Government Machinery (OGM).

He noted that the current NDC administration had previously criticised the previous government over spending levels, only to oversee what he claims is a substantial increase in the OGM budget.

233 Political Appointees, 585 Civil Servants: Breakdown of Mahama’s presidency staff list

“We are talking about a situation where the Office of Government Machinery budget ballooned to GH¢2.7 billion in 2025 under this government. This was after they had criticised the previous administration for spending a little over GH¢300 million,” he said.

Korsah said the real issue should be the value taxpayers are receiving for the expenditure rather than the staffing numbers themselves.

“What matters is at what cost these numbers are coming to the state. If you say you have minimised your numbers and yet you are spending so much, then that becomes the issue,” he argued.

The former minister also accused the government of engaging in what he termed excessive political spin, claiming that previous allegations regarding the number of staffers appointed under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo were exaggerated.

He maintained that accusations that the Akufo-Addo administration had appointed over 1,000 staffers at the Presidency were inaccurate.

“A lot of lies were told about Akufo-Addo appointing staffers numbering over a thousand. It was simply not true,” he stated.

Korsah further suggested that Ghanaians are capable of seeing through political narratives and assessing government performance independently.

“The Ghanaian people are wise. They see through all these things and they know what is happening. They do not rely on gimmicks to understand the issues,” he said.

The lawmaker also took issue with comments made by some National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs, insisting that attempts to explain away certain decisions would not convince ordinary Ghanaians.

“There is too much dishonesty in our politics, and it is not good for the country,” he remarked.

He argued that discussions about staffing figures at the Presidency should not have become a major political issue, stressing that employment opportunities for Ghanaians ought to be welcomed regardless of which party is in power.

“Why should the number of Ghanaians working at the Presidency be an issue? If they are Ghanaians and we have found work for them, it should not be a problem,” he said.

VPO