Alan Kyerematen proposes downsizing Ghana's government

Former Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has proposed a significant reduction in the size of the Ghanaian government to stimulate economic growth. Speaking at a British Council lecture titled “Transformation of the Ghanaian Economy: From Stability to Prosperity,” Kyerematen argued that the current government structure consumes excessive resources that could otherwise be used to support businesses and job creation.

His proposal includes reducing the number of ministries, consolidating government departments and agencies, and cutting the number of public sector employees. To facilitate this transition, Kyerematen suggested providing “golden handshakes”—exit packages designed to incentivize public servants to leave government employment and start their own private enterprises.

Additionally, Kyerematen called for an aggressive push toward the privatization of state-owned enterprises. He emphasized that Ghana cannot achieve genuine economic transformation as long as a large portion of public resources is dedicated to maintaining the scale of the public sector.