The New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has promised to keep the total number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers under 50 during his administration.
Dr. Bawumia emphasized the significance of an effective governance structure and pointed out that a reduced number of ministers will facilitate a more efficient decision-making process.
“I would have no more than 50 ministers and deputy ministers,” he pledged.
In addition, he mentioned the necessity of strengthening the role of the private sector in conjunction with fiscal and administrative decentralization in order to improve the efficiency of systems and institutions. He said that doing this would increase productivity and guarantee value for money in the procurement process.
“The move towards the private sector provision of many public services would create fiscal space of at least 3% of GDP. This represents a major paradigm shift. Additionally, an efficient system of governance will require even fewer ministers,” he added.
Dr. Bawumia announced his vision and priorities for Ghana to the nation in an address on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, in Accra. He declared that under his presidency, an independent fiscal responsibility council will be established to lower interest rates and budget deficits.
“To sustainably reduce the budget deficit and interest rates, my government will enhance fiscal discipline through an independent fiscal responsibility council enshrined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982). The Fiscal Responsibility Act will also be amended to add a fiscal rule that requires that budgeted expenditure in any year does not exceed 105% of the previous year’s tax revenue. This will prevent the experience of budgetary expenditures based on optimistic revenue forecasts which don’t materialize.”
Additionally, the Bawumia government would lessen the financial strain on the government by utilizing the private sector, in the wake of the successful implementation and/or improvement of programs like Free SHS, Free TVEY, and others under the Nana Akufo-Addo administration.
“With all these social safety nets in place, my government will now focus on jobs, and wealth creation by the private sector for all Ghanaians. My administration will incentivize the private sector to complement government in the provision of many infrastructure and other services to reduce government expenditure and improve maintenance,” he stated.
