Renowned Ghanaian businessman, Dr Ishmael Evans Yamson is saddened by the issue of Ghana’s oversized government structure and its implications for the nation’s prosperity.
In an exclusive interview on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr. Yamson began by questioning the size of the Ghanaian government, emphasizing that Ghana is not a big country, yet it boasts an extensive roster of ministers and officials.
“This country is not a big country, yet how many ministers do we have? How many regional ministers do we have? How many deputy ministers do we have? We have built a high layer of administrative staff, and each one cost money but none of them delivers value,” he said on Tuesday.
His complaints come on the heels of Ghana’s latest resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in search of financial assistance to the ailing economy.
The businessman further highlighted the need for a fundamental shift in Ghana’s approach to borrowing and spending.
He argued that for the country to progress, it must shift its focus from borrowing and consuming to borrowing and investing in critical areas that will drive growth and development.
Dr. Yamson expressed his disappointment at Ghana’s ongoing quest for prosperity, noting that despite years of efforts, both Ghana and Africa have struggled to achieve this goal.
He indicated that the key to building a prosperous nation is not the sheer quantity of government officials but their effectiveness and the value they bring to the nation.
“I can tell you that you don’t need more than 30 or 40 ministers to run this country and that is too many but we currently have 100s of them. And each of them with how many vehicles. So the cost of governance by the state is so huge that after you’ve paid those salaries and paid your interest on your debt, you have no money left.”
Expressing his frustration about the current state of politics, the businessman noted that politicians appear unwilling to address the issue of the bloated government structure.
He emphasised, “You don’t need 200 people around you to govern the country in order to make your fellow politicians happy. At the end of the day, now that Ghana is on its knees, I am not sure any politician is happy.”