The request by former president John Dramani Mahama to retain his official Cantonment bungalow as ex gratia is inappropriate and should not be encouraged, a political ccience lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Richard Amoako Baah has said.
This follows a back-and-forth between the two sides of the transition team about whether an agreement was reached on the former president’s request.
Contributing to the discussion on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class 91.3FM on Tuesday January 10, Dr Baah said there will be no more government bungalows for officials to reside in if every president or Minister of State decides to retain state houses.
“The ex-president should not engage in these things because if we were to follow his argument, very soon there will be no government official bungalows in Accra left. If everybody wants to keep the one they had, where are the new people going to go?” he quizzed.
“You are out of government, they will build you a new one, tell them where to build it but you can’t say you want to keep what you have. It is not yours; it’s a state property, you don’t get to decide what you want. That is not what the [Transitional Act] says so it is not appropriate at all,” he added.
“This is not something even President Nana Akufo-Addo can agree to because it is by law. You are supposed to vacate it and then the state will build you one. It is not a good thing at all. If every president and Minister wants to keep what they have, how many houses will be left for the incoming administration to occupy?” Dr Baah stressed.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
