The Finance Ministry has indicated that downsizing the personnel in the public sector could be dangerous and possibly have dire consequences for the country and its economy.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has admonished government to downsize the public sector to reduce government expenditure.
According to the Institute, the size of the public sectors is adversely affecting government expenditure and ultimately the economy and therefore suggested that the sector should be made leaner to make it more productive.
Reacting to these suggestions, a Deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson in an interview on Eyewitness News on Thursday admitted that although some individuals in the public sector do not have clear roles, downsizing across board will be dangerous for the country.
“Are you going to downsize nurses, are you going to downsize teachers? I agree that if you go to some offices, you will identify people who do not have clear roles and I strongly feel that if we are to decide and say that we should downsize across board that is where it looks a bit dangerous.”
Mr. Forson therefore asked for proof that specific areas in the sector needs to be downsized saying, “you should prove that indeed, this sector for instance, there are a number of workers that are not actually working to benefit the system so they are more or less waste.”
“So you don’t sit somewhere and just think that obviously because you’ve been to one office and you’ve identified one person probably sitting down not doing anything, you multiply it across the public sector and make a judgment,” he said.
On the effect the size of the public sector is having on the economy, the Deputy Minister stated that the pay structure of the public sector “is generating some sort of pressure on the national economy but we should also remember that single spine sort to improve productivity, set to give some satisfaction also in the public sector.”
He called for additional research on the matter to resolve the problem and cautioned that the matter should be treated with absolute care.
Source: Citifmonline.com
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