First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has turned down the new emoluments approved for her by Parliament following the Ntiamoa-Baidu committee’s recommendations on the salaries and other benefits for Article 71 officeholders.
This comes on the back of the backlash government had received after it came to the fore that the spouses of the President and Vice President will henceforth be entitled to salaries.
In a statement issued by the Office of the First Lady on Monday, July 12, 2021, Mrs Akufo-Addo said the decision to reject the recommended emoluments is “purely personal”.
“The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu committee, as approved by Parliament. She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament.”
Mrs. Akufo-Adoo has further decided to refund to the state all the allowances paid her since she became the First Lady in 2017. The monies amount to GHS899,097.84.
In the statement, she argued that she did not request to be paid any allowance and that “she only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.”
The First Lady further noted that she’s saddened that the discussions that greeted the announcement of the allowance payments have been laced with some “extremely negative opinions seeking to portray her as a self-centred woman who does not care about the plight of ordinary Ghanaian.”
“In view of this the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic has decided to refund all monies paid her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office i.e from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHS899,097.84.”
Find the full statement below
