Limit Ex-gratia to two terms – Govt told
Dr. Smart Sarpong, Senior Research Fellow, and Lecturer at the Kumasi Technical University is appealing to the government to limit payment of end of service benefits to parliamentarians and the Executive arm of government.
In what he describes as an equitable sacrifice, he explained that the economic challenges demand that citizens tighten their belts in the bid to resolve challenges faced by the country.
In appealing to the government, he tells Kwame Adinkrah on Tuesday’s edition of Pure Morning Drive that the best means to save the economy is to pay taxes and scrap parts of the ex-gratia.
”Kwame Let me use your medium to appeal to the government, especially our law-makers to limit the payment of ex-gratia to 2 terms only. We can use part of the amount to save our ailing economy. We should effect that change and see how many of our Members of Parliament will contest again.”
”Next is consensus-building, we should learn to build consensus…I’m not sure President Mahama will be happy if the current happenings in parliament are melted on him should he become President again. We need to do all we can to move the nation forward. Sympathizers of both parties are faced with the same challenges everyone else is experiencing, non is spared. Let no one think they can run on other people’s failure.”
”Let us sacrifice to make Ghana work again. One thing that helps in building a resilient economy is taxes.Pay e-levy to help salvage the economy, you say no, but we don’t mind paying taxes to MTN?” He queried.
In 2015, former president John Dramani Mahama instituted a committee that was tasked among other things led by Prof. Dora Francisca Adu Buandor to review emoluments of article 71 class of public workers. The committee raised one important issue which had to do with the award of too much ex-gratia to beneficiaries. The committed lamented about this in its report.
The committee’s recommendations were rejected. One of such recommendations was that the salary relativity difference of the three arms of government as approved by late former president of Ghana John Atta Mills as recommended by The Ewurama Addy Committee should be restored.
Again on 5th January 2021, Parliament refused approval of the ex-gratia package for members of the Executive arm of the government.
The action was to draw the President’s attention to increase the package of Members of Parliament (MPs) as contained in the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoah Baidu Committee report.
Source: Purefmonline.com| Ghana | 2022
