Former President John Mahama has questioned the practicality of government’s decision to freeze the use of V6 and V8 in Accra by appointees.
According to Mr Mahama, there are more important things that can be done to cut down expenditures including a reduction in the size of government.
Addressing the 13th Congregation of the Accra Business School over the weekend, he queried the measures that will be put in place to ensure compliance.
“Unfortunately, in this budget, Ghanaians are slapped with stiff additional taxes and no tangible cuts in expenditure. They just say don’t travel with your V8s. If you are travelling outside Accra, you can use your V8, but don’t use it in town.
“I mean, who’s going to monitor if you use your V8 or not? Expenditure has increased significantly by 80 billion cedis. It appears we have to accept to live with the excessive bloated size of government at the presidency,” Mr Mahama stated.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, during the 2023 budget presentation announced that as part of measures to reduce government’s cost, some perks of being in government will be withdrawn.
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It included a ban on the use of V8 and V6 in the capital except in the case of cross-country journeys.
But Mr Mahama has urged the government to put in proper measures to cut down on expenditure which is having a toll on Ghanaians and has crippled the economy.