Travel ban unnecessary; reduce your ministers if you want to cut cost - Ablakwa jabs Akufo-Addo

National Democratic Congress(NDC) MP for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said President Akufo-Addo should focus on reducing his 110 ministers if he wants to save the public purse.

According to the ranking member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, reducing the number of ministers and presidential staffers would immensely help in resolving the drain on the public purse rather than merely banning the travels.

Speaking on Adom FM, he suggested; “Honestly if the president would want to save the public purse as we have been told by government communicators, then reducing the number of ministers will help a lot,”

The North Tongu legislator's comments come after President Akufo-Addo’s directive to ban all governmental appointees from travelling temporarily without permission from the state.

It has been speculated that some government appointees travel at the expense of the state to pursue their personal agenda which has Some political communicators have said government must be up and doing in saving the national coffers in that regard.

Adding his voice to such calls, the former Deputy Education Minister said the development smacks of incompetence on the part of the Chief of Staff.

He said Frema Opare's office should be up and doing to curb such a plunder on the public purse with governmental appointees travelling at will.

“This approach is honestly self-indicting especially if the office of the Chief of Staff was working, they would have approved the number of approvals and disapprovals to spell out appointees who will be traveling and not” he said.

Mr Ablakwa believes it is time the Constitution is amended to cap the number of ministers otherwise, “very soon we’ll hit 10,000 because the Constitution does not provide a ceiling."