The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has purported that President Akufo-Addo directed the enforcement of the recommendation on presidential spouses’ salaries payament.

According to Mr Dafeamekpor, President Akufo-Addo instructed the Finance Ministry to implement the recommendation of the Professor Ntiamoah-Baidu-led Committee.

His statements follow Parliament’s decision to pay salaries and allowances to the spouses of the President and Vice President.

“Here is the question, somebody is saying that why didn’t we raise hell. Why didn’t we make noise enough?

“The thing is this, still at that point that recommendation remained a mere recommendation by the Professor Ntiamoah-Baidu-led Committee. It is only when the President took steps last week to, as it were, direct the Finance Ministry to take steps to give effect to that recommendation. That was when we realized that the law has truly been breached; so we needed to have it struck out”.

Additionally, Mr Dafeamekpor insisted that the Minority sought to disapprove the recommendation when it was brought to parliament. Nevertheless, the staggering number of the Majority led to its approval.

“We said that it’s totally unconstitutional because there is no basis in the constitution that permits the Professor Ntiamoah-Baidu-led Committee to even venture into such an area. So, to that extent that particular recommendation ought to be struck out or deleted from the report so we could go ahead and approve it.

“The majority at the time and still the majority now refused and so by the sheer numbers, they overwhelmed the minority led by the Honourable Muntaka in this matter. So the 123-page report was approved.”

Prof. Baidu Ntiamoah Committee’s report

In January this year, Parliament approved the Prof. Baidu Ntiamoah Committee’s report on recommended emoluments. These emoluments are meant for the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature.

The committee’s report also made provisions for the spouses of the President and Vice President.

Some legislators such as Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor and Builsa South MP, Clement Apaak, filed a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the payment of emoluments to Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Mrs Samira Bawumia.

The plaintiffs argue that “a true and proper interpretation of the Constitution, 1992, spouses of the President and the Vice President are not Article 71 office holders to warrant payment of emoluments to them”.

In lieu of this, the South Dayi legislator questioned whether the emoluments will be extended to spouses of the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice, provided it is implemented.

“The mandate of the Committee is to deal with Article 71 of the public officeholders. Why would the Committee presume that when they were dealing with the emoluments of Article 71 office holders, the spouses of the President were not already factored into the existing arrangement? So, if by reasoning, are they saying that the same courtesy be extended to the spouses of the Speakership, Chief Justice, administrator of the Common Fund, MPs? That is the absurdity this reasoning will lead us to.

“They ought not to have ventured because already, the spouses of the President and his vice are already catered for under the household provision which are the privileges of office”.