Prof Ebo Turkson blames Parliament for contributing to govt expenditure

Prof Turkson has called for the reduction of the size of govt

He said Ghana does not merit a huge number of Parliamentarians

He spoke on Citi FM

Prof Festus Ebo Turkson, an associate professor at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana, has indicated that the size of Parliament should be reduced in

Read full articleorder for the government to cut down its expenditure.

Speaking on Citi FM’s ‘The Big Issue’ programme, he submitted that, looking at the population of Ghana, the huge number of Parliamentarians does not merit it.

He noted, increasing the size of Parliament by 13 more seats does not make governance or economic sense.

Prof Ebo Turkson explained, “The time has come when we need to have a discussion on whether our parliamentary system is not having an overbearing impact on our expenditures as well. I think that a Ghana with the size of our economy and population shouldn’t have more than 150 members of Parliament, especially when we have a local government system right from the assembly member to the assembly that is already in charge of the grassroots governance."

He added, “Rather than build a bigger chamber, we need to reduce the number of MPs because that is a big outlay of our budget especially every four years when we have to look for money to pay ex-gratia to MPs. Our revenue is not in touch with our expenditure. It is part of the way that we need to rationalize our expenditure.”

The 2022 budget which was presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta projected the government's total revenue and grants at GH¢100.5 billion, equivalent to 20 per cent of GDP.

The total expenditure, on the other hand, is projected at GH¢137 billion, equivalent to 27.4 per cent of GDP. The estimate for 2022 represents a growth of 23.2 per cent.

The key drivers of expenditure growth include capital expenditure, funding of key government flagship programmes, wage bill, and interest payments.