Ghana Pays Some GHC 1 billion in “Immoral” Ex-Gratia To Parasites! -Group wants Money Used For Social Infrastructure

Rough estimates put Ghana’s “immoral” payment of ex-gratia to public officials and political appointees at over GHC 1 billion every four years.

This amount which is essentially a draconian interpretation of the constitutional provision to give the infamous Article 71 Officeholders a gift after their well-paid service to the nation could be channeled into serious development projects for the country.

However, these parasitic officials have assumed a massive sense of entitlement to this monumentally wasteful spending on them as they continue to fleece the public purse.

These officials include the President, his Vice, officials at the Jubilee House, Parliamentarians, Judges, Council of State Members, appointees on various boards of state institutions and top civil servants at various government departments and parastatals.

Bernard Avle, the main anchor of Citi TV editorial segment corroborates the fact that when all these amounts are summed up, they run into billions of Ghana cedis.

“…For four years of work, you are in the billions of cedis!” He exclaimed in his latest editorial on Wednesday.

For the umpteenth time, the country is seeing major agitations against the highly unpopular ex-gratia.

This time, the agitation was triggered by the decision of Togbe Afede XIV of the Asogli State in the Volta Region, to return a whopping GHC 365,000 paid to him as ex-gratia for serving on the Council of State for just four years.

Togbe Afede justified his rejection of the money because he said he was well-paid for the part-time job that his role at the Council of State required. He considered the huge payment immoral.

Meanwhile, the pressure group, Economic Fighters League (EFL) has asked the government to use the Ghc365,000 ex-gratia that the Togbe Afede returned to pay the arrears of National Service personnel whom the government has not paid for a number of months with the flimsy excuse that there is no money.

In a statement signed by National Spokespersons, Fighter Nii Aryee Opare and Fighter John Koomson, the league pointed out that the money can pay the stipends of 600 of the NSPs and that it must be directed there immediately.

“The State must put the money returned by Togbe Afede XIV to good use. That amount can pay the allowances of up to 600 National Service Personnel whose payments are in arrears. It must be redirected there immediately,” its statement said.

The statement also rode on the public-spirited act of Togbe Afede to demand a new constitution that will rid the country of ex-gratia which it says has cost the country so much in wasted money.

“…Each member of Parliament from 2017 to 2021 took GHC 390,768. It beats the imagination how a nation which is incapable of paying mere GHC 559 national service allowances or GHC 700 NABCO allowances finds it proper to dole out these obscene amounts as ex-gratia,” the Fighters wrote.

“We call on all other beneficiaries of the immoral Article 71 which must be abolished in the New Constitution to follow the example of Togbe Afede especially as the criminal mismanagement of our economy has led to unbearable levels of hardship.”