Ex-President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has stated that there isn’t any legal backing to the payment of salaries for First and Second Lady of Ghana.
According to the former President the First and Second Lady of the Republic are not captured among Article 71 Office.
He made this comment after the Information Minister Kojo Oppong disclosed before Parliament that the decision to pay the spouses of the President and the Vice President was approved by the seventh Parliament of Ghana.
The former President in a statement dated 9th July noted that said the news of salaries for First and Second lady has attracted public uproar because of the condition the country finds it self and he understands the anger of the ordinary citizen in opposing the recommendation of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee.
”It should be made clear, also, that the recommendation in respect of spouses in the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee report, which covers the years January 7, 2017 to January 6, 2021, is solely in respect of the Spouses of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia.”
The challenge, however, is that the spouses of the President and Vice President are not captured among Article 71 Office Holders and, therefore, there is no legal or constitutional basis for it.
It should be noted that the recommended salaries for the Spouses in the Ntiamoa-Baidu report are captured as part of the emoluments of the President and the Vice President. This seems like an attempt to sneak the First and Second Ladies into the article 71 office holders’ group. This is clearly problematic”, the statement stated.
