Dr. Adu Owusu Sarkodie, an economist, has praised the government for implementing the 30% salary cut for all government appointees.
According to him, this is a good sign that the government is working to reduce the fiscal budget deficit.
“It is a good step, and I said that the main objective is for the government to show that we are on track with the fiscal consolidation path, which is to narrow the budget deficit and also slow down the rate of borrowing,” he told TV3’s Komla Adom on the midday news on Wednesday, April 27.
“This is a good sign,” he said emphatically.
His comments come after the Chief of Staff (CoS), Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has written to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) to begin the 30 per cent deductions of salaries of all government appointees.
In a letter dated 19th April 2022, she said “The Controller and Accountant General Department and the Chief Executives of State Owned Agencies (SOEs) are directed to deduct at source 30 per cent of the salaries of ministers of states (including Deputy Minsters), District Chief Executives of MMDAs, Chief Executive officers and Deputy Chief Executive officers of SOEs with effect form 1st April to December 2022 and pay some into the consolidated fund.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo earlier announced the reduction in salaries all his appointees by up to 30 percent.
This was one of the measures introduced by the government to deal with the economic problems facing the country at the moment, the Presidency said.
Mr Akufo-Addo said this during a meeting with Council of State members at the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday March 22.
“It is no secret that our economy is going through difficult times. It is also no secret that we are not alone in that exercise. The many of the phenomena that we are facing are phenomena that are apparent in many other parts of the world but that doesn’t therefore mean that government is impotent in trying to find solutions,” the President said.
