Mills had no authority to review emoluments approved by Kufour – Majority Leader
It was wrong for the late ex-President John Evans Atta Mills to scrap an approved report by his predecessor John Agyekum Kufuor to pay emoluments of Article 71 holders, who served during Kufuor’s administration, the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has stated.
According to him, the action of Prof Mills, who came to office in January 2009, violated provisions in the 1992 Constitution and should not have been allowed to hold.
He, therefore, endorsed demands for some GHc 29 million salary arrears by some ex-MPs of the Fourth Parliament (2005-2009) and wants the Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, to sanction the payments.
The committees
Various presidents have constituted various committees to examine what is due to Article 71 holders after every four-year tenure.
For example, Former President Jerry John Rawlings formed the Greenstreet Committee in 2000. Former President Kufuor also set-up the Chinery-Hesse Committee in 2008.
Mills & fat ex-gratia?
Unsatisfied with the recommendations of the Chinery-Hesse Committee, the late Prof Mills, who succeeded former President Kufuor, constituted the Ishmael Yamson Committee to review the former.
Among his concerns was that the ex-gratia recommended by the Chinery-Hesse Committee and approved by the former President and Parliament was outrageous.
The Chinery-Hesse Committee originally recommended that the former president be given two houses, six fully insured vehicles–fueled and chauffeur-driven, and to be replaced every four years.
The committee also recommended a once-a-year all-expenses-paid overseas travel, a non-taxable pension and a $1million-dollar seed money for a non-governmental organisation.
The constitutionally-sanctioned arrangement is that Parliament debates and approves the entitlements contained in the emoluments committee’s report, while the outgoing president also stamps that of the legislators.
But the late President Mills changed the convention.
After Prof Mills adopted the Yamson report the said officials were paid some amount of gratuities which was about 20% less than what had been recommended in the Chinery-Hesse report.
Chief of Staff’s letter
In a letter dated April 22, 2020, the ex-MPs petitioned the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare to demand the 20% salary arrears citing the Chinery-Hesse report.
The Auditor-General, however, rejected a request for validation by Ms Osei-Opare. He indicated that the Yamson report overruled the Chinery-Hesse report so the ex-MPs do not have a case.
Pay them
However, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu insisted that the report of the Chinery-Hesse Committee constituted by former President Kufuor to determine ex-gratia and other gratuities to the deserving public office holders between 2005 and 2008 should be upheld and the former officials should be paid accordingly.
What the law says
Article 71 (1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that:
“The salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities and privileges available, to—
(a) the Speaker and Deputy Speakers and members of Parliament;
(b) the Chief Justice and the other Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature;
(c) the Auditor-General, the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Electoral Commission, the
Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and his Deputies and the District
Assemblies Common Fund Administrator;
(d) the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the other members of—
(i) a National Council for Higher Education howsoever described;
(ii) the Public Services Commission;
(iii) the National Media Commission;
(iv) the Lands Commission; and
(v) the National Commission for Civic Education;
being expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund shall be determined by the President on the recommendations of a committee of not more than five persons appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State.”
Mills had no authority
Based on this, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that: “ex-president Mills had no authority to have established that committee (Yankson Committee) in the first place to review that (Chinery Hesse) committee’s report and he (former President Mills) had no business saying that ‘I can only pay 70%”.
My Kyei-Mensah Bonsu maintained on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday that “They (Mills administration) had no authority to have reviewed that (Chinery-Hesse) committee (report)”.
He continued, “It is the work of a different regime occasioned by a different president and the new president cannot go and review that report”.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs insisted that a president was mandated to set-up a committee to determine emoluments of Article 71 holders “beginning his tenure, you cannot go back”.
The MP for Suame recounted that the Majority Leader during the tenure of ex-President Mills, Alban Bagbin, had “conceded that the (Chinery-Hesse) report was approved. He stated this at the Ismael Yamson Committee”.
That, he said, ruled out suggestions that the Chinery-Hesse report was not adopted.
The new regime led by ex-president Mills rejected the Chinery-Hesse report afterwards in favour of the Yamson report.
In his view, the Chinery-Hesse report has now become the template which had been used by other successive governments.
He, therefore, found no reason why the ex-MPs should not be given the payments to the tune of 80% salary increment for four years.
He was of the view that President Mills was unfair in using the Yamson report, hence the correction should be executed by authorities.