President John Dramani Mahama has clarified that his administration currently has only 30 political appointees at the presidency, amidst allegations of exceeding the promised limit.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of 13 deputy ministers, President Mahama emphasized his commitment to lean governance and efficient use of public resources.
“The same commitment to composing a lean government has found expression in the appointments made at the presidency so far,” he stated.
Mahama broke down the numbers, explaining that he has appointed 27 presidential staffers and three directors of important governmental initiatives, bringing the total to 30. This list is pending approval from the Council of State.
In comparison, Mahama noted that the previous government had 336 political appointees at the presidency.
He assured that his administration’s recruitment of supporting staff will not come close to the numbers seen under the previous government, saying, “While we are in the process of recruiting supporting staff to enable the full functioning of our presidency, the numbers will come nowhere near the army of people that were hired under the previous government.”