Stop Receiving Your Ex-Gratia Now If Indeed You’ll Remove It – Allotey Jacobs To Mahama

Bernard Allotey Jacobs has chided John Dramani Mahama over his policy to remove ex-gratia under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.

The payment of ex-gratia to especially members of the Executive including the President, Vice President, Ministers of State and Parliamentarians including the Speaker of Parliament after every four years has been generated lots of controversies with many Ghanaians expressing varied opinions on whether or not it should be scrapped.

In view of this, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader, in his manifesto launched days ago, said, among the many things he promises the citizenry, is to abolish ex-gratia.

“The payments of ex gratia to members of the Executive under Article 71will be scrapped And the necessary constitutional steps to abolish that payment will start in earnest in 2025…persuading the other arms of government other than the Executive to accept the removal of these ex gratia members”, he stated.

However, President John Mahama currently enjoys the benefits of Article 71.

Touching on the promise to eliminate ex-gratia, Allotey Jacobs, a former NDC Central Regional Chairman, asked Mahama to set an example by not receiving his benefits with immediate effect to serve as a proof of commitment to his manifesto promise.

“If you say you will remove Article 71, you are currently enjoying from that same Article 71. So, for us to believe in you, let us hear that from today and with immediate effect, you forfeit your benefits from Article 71. It is a simple logic”, he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show.

Source: Ghmessenger.com