Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister in charge of Government Communication, reaffirmed the president’s pledge to abolish ex gratia payments during the Government Accountability Series on Thursday, addressing journalists’ queries on key national issues.
TV3 reporter Komla Klutse pressed Kwakye Ofosu on whether the president still intends to scrap ex gratia, a controversial perk for public officials. “I think the president has made it clear. It was a major campaign promise,” the minister replied.
Kwakye Ofosu clarified misconceptions surrounding ex gratia, explaining it equates to four months’ salary per year served in public office. “So, in itself, it is not much,” he said. He attributed public outrage to constitutional provisions under Article 71, which require each president to establish an emoluments committee for certain officeholders’ conditions of service.
The minister detailed how incoming officials inherit predecessors’ salaries, often fixed late in the prior administration, resulting in substantial back pay. “For instance, you are actually entitled to take say 2,000 cedis a month… But your predecessor was taking 1,500 cedis,” he said, noting this adjustment, added to ex gratia, inflates final payouts. Over four years, ex gratia alone totals 16 months’ salary, but back pay creates the “huge” impression.
Kwakye Ofosu acknowledged Ghanaians’ long-standing concerns over disparities between Article 71 holders and other public workers. “The phenomenon as it exists now will no longer continue,” he stated, highlighting the president’s recommendation to the Constitution Review Commission for a standing, independent emoluments committee.
This body, operating year-round rather than at governments’ twilight, would assess officials’ work relative to other sectors, ensuring fair remuneration and bridging the “huge gulf” in pay scales. “Once this is done, I’m sure that it will put an end to the perennial uproar,” Kwakye Ofosu said.
The president remains “very much committed to the promise that he made to the people of Ghana,” the minister concluded.