Presidential spouses work for us - Kofi Bentil justifies salaries for First and Second Ladies

Senior Vice President of policy think Imani Africa Kofi Bentil has asserted that spouses of the President and the Vice President deserve some payment.

He explained that the public's expectation of them makes it incumbent that the country makes some monetary provision for them to enable them to meet such expectations.

Mr Bentil’s assertion comes as controversy rages following revelations that the 8th Parliament approved enhanced allowances for the First and Second Ladies as part of Article 71 office holders.

“To be clear, some provision must be made for 1st and 2nd ladies. We require that they don’t work, and yet we ask them to perform all manner of functions and look resplendent through it all,” Mr Bentil said.

However, he noted that putting them under Article 71 may be unlawful. He is therefore calling for the Article to be reviewed.

“Question is, is it lawful to place them under Article 71? Clearly, we need to take a serious look at Article 71,” he suggested.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has explained it is not the President who approved the allowances for his spouse and that his Vice. He explained that approval was the duty of Parliament as has been the case since 2001 when John Kufuor became President.

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