President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has received a strong warning over the size of his government from Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the new minority leader in the House of Representatives.
According to Dr. Forson, the MPs of the National Democratic Congress will not permit President Akufo-Addo to further expand the size of his government, which they consider to be already excessive.
On Thursday, after being named minority leader, he issued the warning in his first speech in front of the public.
“I wish to, first of all, send a message to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), that the people of Ghana are calling on them to downsize their government to reflect the mood of the country before you ask people to forego their coupons or interests, asking the ordinary Ghanaian to sacrifice his payout.
“If the President [Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo] intends to reshuffle his government, let it be known that we in the NDC will not accept an attempt to increase the size of government. And if the current size of his ministers is increased by one person, that person will not receive our cooperation."
Following the present economic crisis, there have been numerous requests for the government to reduce the number of appointments it makes.
Dr. Forson added that the National Democratic Congress would vigorously oppose any appointments made by the administration.
He believed that any planned changes to the government should be in line with the nation's economic circumstances.
He advised the rank and file of the party to keep calm.
“We want the rank and file of the party to keep calm. Members of Parliament are on good terms,” he said.
The Ajumako-Enya-Essiam MP further assured to represent the collective interest of the party.
“As a leader, it will be my duty to represent our collective goals with unwavering dedication and high integrity,” he added.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson replaced Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu in the NDC's leadership in Parliament earlier this week.
As the Deputy Minority Leader and Minority Chief Whip, respectively, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle, took over for James Klutse Avedzi, MP for Ketu North. Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Asawase, took over for Muntaka Mubarak, MP for Asawase.
Several NDC MPs, including Dominic Ayine, the MP for Bolgatanga East, and Murtala Muhammed, the MP for Tamale Central, later criticized the leadership changes as extremely unsettling and undemocratic, claiming they were not consulted before the transition.
A petition to protest the party's decision was signed by 44 MPs. The party's choice, in the opinion of the 44 members, is unfair and unpopular.
However, some 77 MPs have also reportedly signed a different petition to endorse the decision of the party.