Brong Ahafo regional chairman of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Alfred Tua Yeboah, has filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of doling out retirement benefits to MPs every four years upon the expiration of their four-year tenure, irrespective of how many times they are retained in the legislature.
“If you are an MP and then you take your ex gratia, your retirement benefits, it means that you are now out of parliament, that’s the essence of retirement. Who in Ghana has gone on retirement three, four, five or six times?” Mr Yeboah asked.
“If that was the intention of Article 71, then that will mean that all superior court judges will have to retire every four years, take their benefits and come back. A judge will take his retirement benefit when he gets to his retirement [age] – either he is 65 or 70. But MPs, every four years they take [retirement benefits], I think it’s unconscionable,” Mr Yeboah explained to Accra-based Joy FM.
In his suit, he is also challenging a recently approved 10% raise for the president, vice president, judges, and other Article 71 office holders.
Per the raise, President John Mahama who is leaving office on January 7, will be receiving about GH¢7,000 (GH¢6,837 to be exact) more as salary. Mr Mahama, as president, is currently paid a non-taxable salary of GH¢15,972 but will be receiving GH¢ 22,809 per the raise.
As recommended by a report of Presidential Committee on Emoluments signed by Prof Dora Francisca Edua-Buandoh, Mr Mahama and his out-going government as well as the in-coming government will receive the raise from January 2017.
Below is the list of Article 71 office holders and their respective salaries per the 10% raise:
Vice President – GH¢ 20,529
Chief Justice – GH¢17,107
Speaker of Parliament – GH¢ 17,791
Cabinet Minister (MP) – GH¢16,423
Cabinet Minster (Non MP) – GH¢ 16,195
Minister of State (MP) – GH¢ 15,967
Minister of State (Non MP) – GH¢ 15,739
Regional Minister (MP) – GH¢ 15,967
Regional Minister (Non-MP) – GH¢15,511
Deputy Minster (MP) – GH¢ 14,826
Deputy Regional Minister (MP) – GH¢14,598
Deputy Minister (Non-MP) – GH¢ 14,369
Dep. Regional Minster (Non-MP) – GH¢ 142,142
Chairman, Council of State – GH¢ 14,826
Member, Council of State – GH¢ 13,685
Mr Yeboah is not the only critic raising concerns about the raise. Recently, a group calling itself Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) said in a statement that the 10% raise which takes retrospective effective from 2013, was “too high” and must be cut down by the Akufo-Addo government once it takes office.
A statement signed by the group’s Executive Secretary Mensah Thompson said the raise was made “based on the irregular emoluments structure that existed. But based on the reasons given for an upwards review, and several other benefits accrued to these state officials, 10% is preferably too high.”
“Already the structure of the economy does not allow for extra incomes, the fiscal space is not open enough and almost half of annual revenue goes into servicing emoluments of public workers and state officials.
“This is a wrong path. Article 71 office holders can do without a pay rise for 10-15 years. And any extra income for these office holders means no job for a young graduate who cannot survive without an income. There are several other challenges in the economy and the standard of living among a lot of the public needs an upgrade. We, therefore, call on the next government to set up another committee to review the Prof Dora Adu-Buandoh committee recommendations downwards. The current government should also avoid backdating the implementation of the report to 2013. Our priorities as a country need to be set right; either we want to develop or satisfy a few full-bellies to the detriment of the masses.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
