Former President John Dramani Mahama has asked President Akufo-Addo to begin expenditure cuts from the presidency as part of plans to cut down on expenditure as the government negotiates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for a bailout.
In an interview with VOA Africa, Mr. Mahama said the Presidency needed to “show the way” by setting an example.
“If the President himself is cutting the budget of government machinery, then everyone must be prepared to make a sacrifice.”
“You can implement a home-grown fiscal consolidated policy, but unfortunately, a lot of local and foreign investors will probably doubt that you can live by the promises that you make unless you have an institution like the IMF working with you.”
Presidency overspends budget by Ghc75 Million
The Presidency overspent its budget by GHC75 million, according to the Auditor General’s report on the public accounts for 2021.
According to the report, the president’s office has been allocated GHC 82,970,658 for compensation expenditure in 2021. However, according to the A-G audit, the president’s office spent GHC 158,011,567, which was GHC 75,040,909 more than the approved figure.
In 2020, the president’s office spent GHC 251,807,801 instead of the 79,621,318 approved for compensation.
According to the report, the government also spent GH9,197 million on priority programs and interventions for the fiscal year 2021, including 142 million cedis on the widely criticized national cathedral project.
