Salary issues of First Ladies would have been resolved - Koku Anyidoho

Founder of the Atta-Mills institute, Koku Anyidoho has said there is no need for a commission to be set up to review the country’s 1992 constitution as being demanded by some section of the public.

According to him, governments after former President Atta-Mills’ demise have failed to implement the recommendations made by the Constitution Review Commission which was set up in 2010 and its report presented in 2011.

Speaking about the legacies of the late former President Atta Mills as part of activities to mark the ninth year of his passing, Mr Anyidoho said the country would not have had the debate on whether or not, First and Second ladies should be paid salaries if the commissions reported had been acted upon.

He said the commission’s recommendations asked for the setting up of an independent emoluments committee to determine salaries of all public sector workers and who falls within that category.

“If that Independent Emoluments Commission has been set up, we will not be having this argument and that is the point we are trying to make.

“So they would have determined which categories of persons are public officers, then we would have passed this juncture ten years ago, we will not be having a tire puncture at the junction we should have passed ten years ago.

“So to answer your question that is the debate, let the president set up, I mean unless this becomes law, let the constitution be so amended, then now we can let them tell us the persons who qualify to be public sector workers.”

Mrs Akufo-Addo has refunded all the allowances paid her since 2017.

On Tuesday, July 13, she issued a Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited cheque for GH¢899,097.84 as a refund of all allowances received since 2017.

She had announced on Monday, July 12, that due to the “extremely negative opinions” which have laced conversations on her allowances, she was refunding every pesewa.

She also served notice not to receive any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, which was tasked in 2019 to review emoluments of Article 71 officeholders.

She found the public debate “distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centred woman who does not care about the plight of ordinary Ghanaian”.

Barely 24 hours after that, her office wrote to the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare, to present the cheque number for the full refund of the monies.

“Her Excellency, the First Lady remains committed to her role as First Lady and is devoted to her charity work championing the wellbeing of women and children in Ghana,” wrote Mrs Shirley Laryea of the Office of the First Lady.