A former Presidential Staffer under the Akufo-Addo administration, Kow Essuman, has criticised the government’s handling of end-of-service benefits, questioning why former Members of Parliament have received their payments while former presidential staffers remain unpaid nearly 20 months after leaving office.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, July 24, Essuman said the government’s approach was unfair and departed from the practice of settling the benefits of all eligible former public office holders at the same time.
He noted that Members of Parliament had already been paid their salary arrears, emoluments and ex gratia benefits before the presentation of the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review. However, he said former presidential staffers who served under the previous administration are still waiting for their outstanding entitlements.
According to Essuman, there has never been a situation where one category of former office holders receives its benefits while another group, with similar claims, is left out.
He questioned the rationale behind the government’s decision, arguing that if payments were to be made, all eligible beneficiaries should have been treated equally rather than prioritising one group over another.
“There has never been a situation where arrears, entitlements and end-of-service benefits are paid in bits and pieces. If government decides to pay, it should not pay one group while leaving another behind,” he stated.
Essuman also criticised Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson for failing to address the outstanding payments during his presentation of the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review. He said the omission was disappointing, especially after previous assurances that the remaining beneficiaries would receive their payments.
The former presidential staffer revealed that representatives of the affected group have held several meetings with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Presidency, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, and the Audit Service in an attempt to resolve the issue.
Despite those engagements, he said no clear explanation has been provided for the prolonged delay.
While acknowledging the need for audits to verify beneficiaries before payments are made, Essuman argued that the verification process should not take almost two years. He maintained that the records of all affected former staffers are already available within the government’s payroll system, making the delay difficult to justify.
