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A policy Think Tank has put a figure on President John Mahama's directive to state institutions against the use of public resources to purchase Christmas and New Year gifts, like hampers, during the upcoming yuletide. The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) says a study they conducted on state institutions in the country reveals that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as quasi-independent state institutions such the National Media Commission, National Commission for Civic Education, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice among others spend on the average Gh�30,000 of the tax payers money to buy hampers for board members, senior executives and some officials of their partner institutions. These revelations were contained in a release issued by its Executive Director, Gloria Edusei, on Tuesday. The President's directive issued earlier this month was limited to only the Ministries, but subsequently an official letter from the Presidency, and signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr. Raymond Atuguba, extended the ban on gifts to Departments and Agencies under the Ministries and also Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Although CRP did not indicate exactly how they arrived at the Gh�30,000 figure, the Think Tank stated that "considering that there are over 150 MDAs plus 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the directive by President Mahama will help save the state some Gh�10,980,000.00." "Obviously, this money can be put to more productive use including building about twelve (12) new Senior High Schools", CPR suggested. The policy Think Tank therefore urged the Chief of Staff, Proper Bani, to put in place mechanisms to ensure strict compliance with the directive by Ministers and heads of other state institutions. CPR suggests that as a deterrent, heads of institutions who flout the directive should be severely punished.