Mahama Ayariga is the Majority Leader in Parliament
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has stated that the government will not increase the number of ministers.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on February 20, 2026, he insisted that the current figure will be maintained despite pressure on ministers’ workload and calls by the Minority for an increment.
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“I can assure you that no matter what you do, President John Dramani Mahama will not increase the number of ministers. We will not increase the number of ministers. If you think that by inundating ministers with questions, they will be forced to increase the number of ministers so that we will fail on our political promise, we will not do that,” he said.
He added that ministers must balance their administrative responsibilities with parliamentary duties.
“And at the same time, those ministers must also perform their job, just as he has indicated. You have left us huge debts. The Minister of Finance had to pay by the deadline, the day before yesterday, 10 billion Ghana cedis. How is he going to pay if all the time you come here and ask him questions that he thinks do not help him to raise 10 billion Ghana cedis?” he criticised the Minority.
Ayariga also stressed the importance of ministers focusing on governance, while continuing to respond to Parliament.
He expressed concern about delays that often occur when ministers appear before Parliament to answer critical questions, saying proceedings sometimes end up focused on politicking rather than the issues at hand.
“Mr Speaker, the ministers have to carry out their core responsibility of administering this country. And at the same time, they will come to this Parliament and answer questions. The ministers have been coming. Don’t get the impression that they don’t come… Sometimes, the ministers come to answer questions, and then we spend the whole time engaging in politics and consuming their time,” Ayariga noted.
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Reaffirming the government’s position, he concluded, “I am not the president, but I can tell you that we will not increase the number of ministers. The ministers will remain 60.”
MAG/AE
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