The Chairman of the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress branch in South Africa, Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie says John Mahama’s decision to cancel ex-gratia payments is the ex-president’s attempt to save the national kitty especially in these trying times.
Mr. Quashie, who doubles as the Group Chairman of Allied Consortiums, remarked that the country is not in normal times therefore any initiative that saves even a cedi for the nation is worth commendation, including cutting expenditure on the executive side.
His comments follow widespread mixed reactions to Mr. Mahama’s decision to expunge the law on ex-gratia for Article 71 holders, starting from his executives.
The ardent Mahama supporter believes that the former president spoke the truth when he announced the cancellation of ex-gratia for members of the Executive under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution during the launch of his presidential campaign in the Volta Region.
“The payments of ex gratia to members of the Executive under Article 71 will be scrapped and the necessary constitutional steps to abolish that payment will start in earnest in 2025. We will also persuade members of the other arms of government to accept its removal,” John Mahama said at the launch.
Aside perceiving his statement as a herculean task to accomplish, some political experts have said the statement is just to score political points at a time ex-gratia discussions have become topical in the public domain.
But speaking on ‘The Pulse’ on Joy News, Mr. Quashie opined that “Mahama is trying to protect the public purse…our country is not in normal times so when my brothers and sisters in the NPP question why he is trying to abolish the ex-gratia, I say we are trying to protect the public purse; every cedi, every cent counts. So, ex-president Mahama’s admonishing is another way of us making sure that we have prudent expenditure of government’s resources.”
He further replied those asking John Mahama to return ex-gratia payments received, that Ghana does not engage in retrospective laws.
In his view, the law on ex-gratia has not been repealed therefore how can the former Head of State return benefits he received in the past.
“In Ghana, we work with laws, has the law [on ex-gratia] been abolished?” he questioned critics asking Mahama to refund his emoluments.
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