Gabby: Proactive PR is the way to go

A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has called on the communication machinery of the Akufo-Addo administration to be more proactive in making the public know certain measures the government has taken to “deal with the fiscal difficulties.”

His call comes as civil society organisations and political watchers mount pressure on the government to cut down on its expenditure in the wake of fuel price hikes, among others.

According to Mr Otchere-Darko, the time has come for the public relations machinery of the government to “must up its game.”

“I am reading good suggestions on how to deal with the fiscal difficulties, like cutting down on gov’t expenditure. But, already spending is down by more than 20% and MDAs are feeling the pinch. The Presidency alone has cut expenditure down by over 30%. Gov’t must up its PR game!” he tweeted over the weekend.

Ransford Gyampo, an associate professor at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, in a recent open letter, called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to reduce the size of his government and slash the salaries of appointees by 30%.

As part of measures to keep the economy running, the government announced earlier this year that allocation to municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies (MMDAs) for the first quarter of 2022 would see some 20% reduction.