Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, has offered clarification on the government’s decision to scrap fuel allowances for political appointees, emphasizing that the directive does not apply to official state travel or critical assignments.
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, ordered the immediate cancellation of all fuel allocations and allowances previously enjoyed by government appointees as part of broader cost-cutting and accountability measures.
In a media interview on the same day, Ms. Muslim explained that the policy targets routine or weekly fuel benefits and is not meant to disrupt essential government operations. She stressed that state support would still be available for regulated official assignments.
“The exemption is that there will still be room for some regulated official travel and assignments,” she said. “For those regulated official travels, there will be room for the state to provide fuel.”
According to the Deputy Spokesperson, a formal implementation framework will soon be released to ensure clarity on the specific categories of assignments and travel that will qualify for state support.
“A written framework will be provided to guide all appointees on what qualifies for fuel allocation under official state duties. But for regular commuting — going to and from work — government will no longer bear that cost,” she added.
Ms. Muslim emphasized that the directive reflects President Mahama’s commitment to lead by example and demonstrate fiscal discipline through tangible actions.
She noted that the move aligns with government’s broader effort to manage public expenditure more responsibly.
She also revealed that work is underway to calculate the total financial savings expected from this new policy.
“As we speak, the exact cost is still being computed, and we will make the figures public once the data is finalized. Since this directive was just issued today, it will take a few weeks to pull together the complete picture, especially considering the budgeting cycle hasn’t ended,” she noted.
Ms. Muslim further clarified that the directive takes effect immediately, and any pending allocations that have not been disbursed will be affected.
“Effective today, any fuel allocation that has not yet been collected will no longer be available. If someone was scheduled to receive fuel this week and hadn’t done so before the directive took effect, they are unlikely to receive it now,” she said.
The directive marks one of the most visible cost-saving measures taken by the Mahama administration in recent months, aimed at curbing unnecessary government spending amid renewed calls for prudent use of state resources.
