According to Dr. Charkes Wereko-Brobbey, Chief Policy Officer at the Ghana Institute of Public Policy Options, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo's announcement to decrease salaries for those in the executive branch of government was useless.He suggested that downsizing the government would be more wise than the 30% wage cut the President imposed earlier this year and recently confirmed will continue till 2023 due to economic concerns.

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The engineer by trade known as "Tarzan" explained his viewpoints in an interview with Joy FM on October 31, 2022. He also referred to some government agencies as "irrelevant" and in need of being abolished."Everybody keeps talking about [the] downsizing of government, the government is far too large.

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Too many ministers, irrelevant development authorities, too many district assemblies and this issue of saying that Ministers will continue to give up 30% of salary, it is a completely useless thing to push."Because it is not the nominal salary of the appointee that matters, it is the on-cost to the nation," he stressed citing the fact that all of the appointees will be entitled to accommodation, security, PAs, etc.

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, which will affect the cost of running the government."Downsizing the government actually makes a substantial difference in the expenditure that we are having," he added.President Akufo-Addo's government has at times been referred to as elephant-sized and multiple calls have been made asking that it is pruned down but Akufo-Addo has defended the number explaining that the NPP agenda needed everyone to execute.

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What Akufo-Addo said about salary cuts in Oct. 30 address:In April, after the Cabinet retreat of the first quarter, and recognising the deteriorating macroeconomy, my government announced a thirty percent (30%) cut in budgeted discretionary expenditures, and a thirty percent (30%) cut in salaries of the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs and political office holders, amongst other measures," he said.

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In laying out some measures to help alleviate the current hardships, he submitted: "We have decided to review the reforms in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the exemptions Act and a new property rate regime.

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"We have decided also to continue with the policy of a thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of political office holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023, just as we will continue with the thirty percent (30%) cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and Agencies."

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