Council of State redundant, Martin Kpebu
It was not full-time work, Togbe Afede XIV on why he returned ex-gratia
A member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, has said that stakeholders need to come up with a legislation on the allocation of ex-gratia for members of the Council of State.
According to him, Ghana’s politics needs to be rebranded to dissolve the mind-set that politics is an easy venture for money-making.
“There must be a concerted effort by the political elite that, if we want to encourage people to pay their taxes and tell Ghanaians that look politics is not about enriching ourselves that it is about public service.
“We need to rebrand the way we do politics, and that is where I think that the government must engage other political stakeholders and let us legislate this issue of ex-gratia. Let us come out with clear-cut legislation that defines who is entitled to the ex-gratia,” Addo said in an Asaase News interview.
He further stated, “We can’t have a situation where all politicians are bastardized on the account of ex-gratia when we know that the non-political actors in that category are all lumped together and bastardized as if those in higher senior public service do not deserve to be paid from public service, some of them make a lot of sacrifices.”
Speaking in an earlier interview with Joy News, Togbe Afede XIV explained the reason he decided to refund the GH¢365,000 ex-gratia he was paid.
He said, “Let me subject this to a bit of analysis, that will respect also the situation in our country and the plight of the average Ghanaian. Some people must not be made to look like a different class of people, but coming to my particular case, the council of state work is part-time work.
“… The council of state work must not take you away from what you have already been doing and therefore it is not a case that you need to be compensated at the end of it all as if you are being thrown out of your job.”
“So, I do not think that the work that I did merit it. But let me assure you that I was one of the most active participants in the council of state, and I was chairman of the economic and special development committee which never met without me.
“Nonetheless, I can’t deny the fact that it was part-time work and it was not a full-time work … and I did it for four years, that I deserve a colossal GH¢365,000? That’s a big amount of money,” Togbe Afede XIV added.
Meanwhile Lawyer Martin Kpebu has called for the overhaul of the Council of State since it seems to have lost its relevance.
Samoa Addo is a member of NDC