The vice-president and presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Mahamudu Bawumia, has promised that in a Bawumia presidency, the number of ministers and deputy ministers will not exceed 50.
Bawumia emphasized that a streamlined system of governance necessitates a reduction in the number of ministers, hence his commitment to a smaller government.
“I would have no more than 50 ministers and deputy ministers,” Bawumia said.
“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.
Fiscal responsibility
Dr. Bawumia announced that his administration will establish an independent fiscal responsibility council aimed at curbing budget deficits and lowering interest rates.
“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 materialise,” he said.
Creating jobs and wealth
Moreover, he indicated that the Bawumia-led administration plans to alleviate the fiscal strain on the government by harnessing the potential of the private sector. This strategy follows the effective implementation and/or improvement of policies such as Free Senior High School (SHS) and Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) during the tenure of the Nana Akufo-Addo government.
“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 incentivise the private sector to complement government in the provision of many infrastructure and other services to reduce government expenditure and improve maintenance,” he stated.
Dr. Bawumia’s lecture, aired on nearly all television networks in Ghana, garnered significant attendance from members of the diplomatic corps, clergy, civil society organizations, NPP executives, and a diverse array of individuals from across the nation.