{UAH} Ghanaian president bans the purchase of new vehicles for govt ministries

Ghanaian president bans the purchase of new vehicles for govt ministries

By Socrates Mbamalu on March 29, 2017 — Ghanaian President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently banned the purchase of new vehicles for ministries, departments and agencies to save money to fund other ambitious projects. The ban, a commendable austerity measure has been widely applauded. However, the ban stands in stark contradiction to Akufo-Addo's recent appointment of 110 ministers. The elephant-size cabinet has been widely condemned as huge burden on government expenditure.

Is the current President of Ghana bringing down the sword on corruption? Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Ghana's President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has placed a ban on the purchase of new vehicles by Ministries, Departments and Agencies. The ban holds till further notice after it was discovered that 208 cars from the previous government were missing.

Speaking about the issue on Joy FM, Deputy chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor, reportedly said the ban was necessary in order to channel the resources that would otherwise have been used for the purchase of vehicles into the implementation of government's "ambitious" projects.

"Capital expenditure is used for purchasing vehicles, but in this budget, the President wants to spend it on the productive sector of the economy," Jinapor said.

The ban, a commendable austerity measure, however stands in stark contradiction to Akufo-Addo's recent appointment of 110 ministers. The elephant-size cabinet has been widely condemned, but Akufo-Addo defended the bloated government as a necessary investment.

Akufo-Addo who rode on pre-election promises of a prudent and efficient government is seen to have already breached the trust Ghanaians gave to him.

Parallels in the cabinet appointment have been drawn between Akufo-Addo and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli who slashed his cabinet to 19, 11 less than the previous cabinet in order reduce government spending.

Tanzania's new President John Magufuli has promised to overhaul the education sector Photo: Bloomberg

Read: Magufuli shortlisted for Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2016 award

Whether President Akufo-Addo will follow in the steps of his counterparts such as Rwanda's Paul Kagame and Magufuli, in fighting corruption and cutting wasteful spending in government remains to be seen.

However, for some observers the ban on the purchase of new cars is a breath of fresh air, which signals that it won't be business as usual, and things will change for the better under Akufo-Addo's administration .

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

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