Council of State members cut their monthly allowance by 20% until end of the year

Members of the Council of State have told President Nana Addo Dankwa Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that they have decided to reduce their monthly allowances by 20 per cent until the end of the year.

This decision was taken due the economic difficulties that the country is facing at the moment, Chairman of the Council, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, said.

Speaking during a meeting with the President at the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday March 22, Nana Otuo Siriboe II said “Mr President, over the past few weeks, the Council has been deliberating on the current economic conditions of the country and have been collecting views with the view to sharing with you as early as possible.

“As we were going through our routines, you and your cabinet were at a retreat over the same issues. Since yesterday, we have been fed with snippet of information regarding some of the decisions that you have made.

“We are particularly delighted to read that you and your cabinet have decided to reduce some of your emoluments and your allowances. Mr President, in tandem with your decision we as Council of State had also decided that we will reduce our monthly allowances by 20 per cent until the end of this year.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his part, assured the Council and the entire nation that the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta will be announcing the measures that have been taken by the government to tackle the economic challenges facing the country at the moment.

He said “The Minister for Finance is going to have major engagement with the nation on Thursday where he is going to be in the position to lay out specifically the measures that we have taken or we intend to take to correct or put the ship of sail better.”

Mr Akufo-Addo further observed that the challenges that are facing Ghana are similar to those pertaining in many countries around the world.

He noted that it is no secret that Ghana is going through economic turbulence.

He said the government has the ability of finding solutions to the challenges.

“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.

On Monday March 21, the Ministry of Information announced that the just-ended Cabinet retreat held between Thursday, March 17 and Sunday, March 20 has seen tough decisions approved by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The decisions are set to be announced by the Minister of Finance later this week after meeting key social and economic stakeholders.

They are to ensure a turnaround for the economy.

Among the decisions is President Akufo-Addo approving a number of far-reaching measures aimed at mitigating the depreciation of the Cedi, ensuring expenditure discipline and providing relief in the face of global fuel price hikes and inflation as well as ensuring that priority programmes meant to grow he economy are protected, the Ministry said in a press release.