ASEPA Goes To Supreme Court Over Ntiamoah-Committee Recommendations

Civil Society Organization, Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), is seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent President Akufo Addo from implementing portions of recommendations of the Ntiamoah Baidu Emoluments Committee report.

A 9th July writ of summons and Statement of case invokes the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, from which ASEPA is seeking eight reliefs including “an order directed at the President of the Republic, his agents, assigns, privies, servants and whomsoever under his authority to cease from implementing that part of the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 71 officeholders (January 2017 – December 2020), which is in respect of the spouses of the President and the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana until this suit is fully determined.”

The suit also asked for a declaration that the payment of any remuneration to any spouse of the President or the Vice President is inconsistent with Articles 108 (a) (ii) and 178 of the Constitution. 

ASEPA is also seeking a declaration that Parliament’s approval of the recommendation by the Committee for the State to pay the spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents is null and void.

It wants the President restrained from making any further payments to spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents.

The suit in the wake of a national uproar over the approval and implementation of the Presidential Emoluments Committee set up by President Akufo-Addo, which recommended fat salaries and privileges for Article 71 officeholders, especially the President and also recommended that the spouses of the President and Vice President are placed on the same salaries as cabinet Ministers.

The five-member committee, chaired by Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, was set up in 2019 and produced the report which has since been approved by the 7th Parliament which had been dominated by MPs from the President’s party, NPP.

As part of the recommendations, the Committee had also suggested that new salaries that it recommended, should be backdated to 2017 so that the 2017 salaries of all Article 71 officeholders are can be deducted from the new salaries and then the difference paid as arrears.