More opposition against ex-gratia payment

The founding President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has described the payment of ex-gratia to Members of Parliament (MPs) as a blunder, adding that the payment is unjustifiable, even if it is legal.

His rejection comes after the Speaker of Parliament had defended the payment of ex-gratia to Members of Parliament on the basis that the money is very important for the sustenance of the MPs after serving the country.

Mr Cudjoe said the state cannot continue to make such payments to the MPs because they earn more money than ordinary Ghanaians.

“Ex-gratia payment is not justified. The payment of ex-gratia to MPs is a blander, however you look at it, even if it is legal. And I worry because when the argument is made about the fact that this is justified, I wonder,” he said in a media interview.

According to him, if an MP is receiving GH¢29,000 as gross salary monthly, that is for the last Parliament, which is equivalent to GH¢350,000 per annum, then there’s a question mark.

“If you then juxtapose that against the per capita income of the country of GH¢14,000, that is almost 25 times the capital income of every Ghanaian…,” he added.

Scrap

Similarly, an associate Professor at the University of Ghana School of Law, Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has called for the scrapping of ex-gratia.

He insists that the political elite are taking advantage of the ex-gratia “benefit to milk the state.”

“No, it cannot be justified, and I think that Parliament should sit up and say that if you are saying that you spend too much due to campaigning and so on, be circumspect in your campaigning because that is where corruption starts,” he said.

Prof Appiagyei-Atua added that parliamentarians should strive to “cut their coat according to their size” when it is clear that they are not expecting ex-gratia.

“If you are talking about the fact that ex-gratia is made available to everyone, whether you win elections or lose, and don’t come back, you are entitled to that, then how can you call that a retiring benefit?,” he quizzed.

Review

Meanwhile, a former Council of State member, Nana Adjei Ampofo, has also recommended that payment of ex- gratia to Council of State members should be reviewed to meet the economic realities of the day.

He said the review should look at the quantum of money paid to the members, noting that from the figures available to him now, the amount is on the high side.

Although he would not suggest what amount should to be paid to the Council members as ex gratia, Nana Ampofo, who is a legal practitioner of about 45 years’ standing, said: “I believe that past and present members of the council have been hearing the views of Ghanaians on the ex-gratia”.

“Even though many people think that the payment is justifiable, they still think that having regard to the economic situation of the country, the payment should be reviewed downwards,” he added.