IMF programme: Cut wasteful expenditure and expectations – Nitiwul to government agencies

Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defence, has cautioned all ministries and government agencies to cut down any non-essential expenditure as the country is seeking support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said, his ministry and other security agencies have been affected by the measures put in place to reduce government expenditure.


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The minister noted on JoyNews’ PM Express, “All sectors including that of the security must know that they must lower the expectation a little bit. Programmes that can be postponed, you have to; programmes that you believe that you can, do your work without, you have to. All ministers must be on their feet, and so, for example you have to make sure that wasteful expenditure is cut off.”

Dominic Nitiwul continued, “But there are some of the expenditures that we have to do to ensure that we save our country. You and I, or the average Ghanaian want to wake up knowing that the country is safe, he has a country that he can move freely, so those operational expenditures we still have to go ahead (with) as a country.

“Operation Calm life, Operation Cow Leg, Operation Cow Feet – if there’s a problem in a particular place you cannot say soldiers or police, you cannot go. You have to find money along the line to go. You cannot say you’re not going to feed soldiers, you’ll have to feed them. We feed 12,000 soldiers on a daily basis, you have to feed them because they’re all spread around different places.

“Same with police, same with Fire Service, if there’s a fire burning in Kanatamanto you cannot say fire service must not go, they must get fuel and they must be ready to move. There must be water, and there must be a fire hydrant all these kinds of things that need to be done, it has to be done.”

He further lamented that projects that his ministry is undertaking or embarking upon have been reduced or postponed to a later time.

“But there are a lot of programmes, for example, what we use our goods and services for, maybe painting of this Ministry or trying to do little little things, or maybe buying a lot of internets that you may not need too much; or making a lot of phone calls that you should not make.

“You have to cut down on a lot of that kind of things that’s why I am trying to say those non-essential things we all have to cut down including the security agencies, the security ministries. Things are not very normal,” Dominic Nitiwul explained.

He was, however, very optimistic that Ghana’s economic situation will bounce back.

“But I believe like I said it’s a phase. I believe that Ghana with the sort of managers of the economy we saw when we went into that hole before, we came out in two years. I believe we’re going to come out again in two years or less,” Dominic Nitiwul stressed.

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