Presidential spouses’ salaries: Question MPs for this judgement error – Media charged

Independent candidate for Ghana’s 2012 and 2016 presidential race, Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY) has called on the media to probe parliamentarians for approving recommendations to pay presidential spouses salaries.

According to him, the move by parliament was a judgement error and “this is the more reason we need to question them.”

He noted that it is the duty of parliamentarians to protect the public purse but their recent action proves otherwise.

“We need to ask parliamentarians why they approved the recommendation by the Ntiamoa-Baidu committee to pay the 1st and 2nd ladies salaries instead of protecting the public purse,” he told Happy98.9FM’s Don Kwabena Prah.

The politician encouraged the Ghanaian media to demand the house’s hansard to find out which parliamentarians were present at the approval of the recommendation and hold them to account.

“We can’t treat them as Article 71 office holders when they are not. It is sad this development occurred. The media must delve deep and question parliamentarians on the rationale behind they approving the recommendation to pay presidential spouses salaries,” he said on the 'Epa Hoa Daben' political talk show.

He believes such an enquiry will keep parliamentarians on their toes and keep them from making rash decisions in the future.

The parliament of Ghana on 6th January, 2021 approved the recommendation of the Prof Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu led committee to pay presidential spouses salaries.

This decision raised lots of questions and disapproval amongst the Ghanaian populace especially as the country still suffers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the 1st and 2nd ladies of Ghana have decided to refund to the state all the monies paid them since 2017 and refused to take any monies allocated to her pursuant to the recommendation of the Prof Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu led committee, a section of the public has called for accountability from parliamentarians.