Section 2 & 3 of the PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE ACT, 1993 (ACT 463), clearly defines the function of office of the Presidency and Members of the Office. However, there is a raging debate regarding the Membership of the Office over the last few days. While the NPP claim to have kept in check the total number of Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees employed to assist with the day-to-day running of the Office of the Presidency, the NDC have stated otherwise. To unravel these claims and bring the truth to light, the Center for Democracy and Socio-economic Development (CDS) Africa undertook a study by analyzing the trends and marginal changes in Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees from 2010 to 2020 under both the NPP and the NDC.

Figure 1 shows that with exception to 2012, the NDC government’s Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees at the presidency consistently increased from 2010 to 2016. Figure 1 also shows that while the NPP government’s Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees at the presidency increased when they took power in 2017, this number steadily decreased from 2018 to 2020.

Figure 1: Trend in Presidential Appointees, Public Sector Employees and Political Appointees (2010-2020).

Similarly, Figure 2 presents the marginal changes in Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees at the presidency from 2010 to 2020. The analysis from Figure 2 indicates that the NDC’s staff strength at the presidency kept increasing at an increasing rate from 2012 to 2016 under former President Mahama, with 2014 witnessing the highest increase within the study period. In particular, the number of Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees at the presidency increased by about 12% under the NDC in 2014, and 3% in 2016 respectively.

Figure 2 further shows that the NPP’s staff strength at the presidency compared to the time they assumed office in 2017, can be described as decreasing at a decreasing rate. From Figure 2, we clearly see that between 2017 to 2018, Presidential appointees, public sector employees and political appointees at the presidency of the NPP reduced by about 4%, followed by a further reduction of about 2% in 2020.

Figure 2: Marginal Changes in Presidential Appointees, Public Sector Employees and Political Appointees (2010-2020).