Review health and education ministries – Bright Simons to Mahama

The Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has advised President John Dramani Mahama to prioritize reforms in the health and education ministries over abolishing five ministries.

In his article titled “The Stressful Difference Between Cutting Ministries and Cutting Costs in Ghana,” Bright stated that the health and education ministries consume a disproportionately large share of the government’s total budget, advising that if the government aims to make significant reductions in expenditure, reforming these two ministries would be a viable option, yielding substantial savings.

“If you really want to make major savings in government spending, you could introduce reforms in health and education that would eclipse the savings made from abolishing 5 ministries,” he stated.

He raised concerns about the fate of employees in the ministry’s abolished, inquiring whether they would be reassigned to other government agencies or completely removed from government payroll.

Bright believes that the president’s decision to abolish five ministries was motivated by a desire to appease the public rather than a genuine effort to reduce government spending. According to him, the public perception is that a higher number of ministries directly translates to increased government expenditure, and the president’s move was likely intended to address this concern.

This article comes after President Mahama announced the reduction of ministries from 30 to 23.