Former Head of Monitoring Unit of the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has hit hard at NPP Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe and NDC MP for Ningo Prampram, Sam George over their threats to sue government over the official decision to pay First and Second Ladies’ salaries.
Parliament has approved that wives of the President and Vice President should receive salaries but this has been vehemently condemned by the two politicians and a section of the general public.
Kwame Baffoe, popularly called Abronye DC, has dragged the Attorney General to the Supreme Court praying the court for a “declaration that, the approval by Parliament to pay salaries to the First and Second Ladies is inconsistent with ARTICLE 71 CLAUSES 1 AND 2 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and consequently be declared null, void and unenforceable’’ and an order that “per Articles 108 and 178 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; parliament cannot, on its own accord, initiate or approve payment of any such emoluments; which would necessarily be paid from public funds; without a bill to that effect emanating from and introduced by the Government and dully passed into law’’.
Sam George, also threatening a law suit, argues that the First and Second Ladies are not Public Officers, therefore the Parliamentary approval is in breach of Article 71 of the constitution.
“As far as I am aware there was no arrangement for that, the President’s wife and the vice President’s wife are not article 71 holders.”
“I am a Member of Parliament, I personally do not subscribe to that, whether it is an NDC President or an NPP President, your wife is not a Public Officer, you wife is your wife. Are we also going to say that the Spouse of the Chief Justice , the spouse of the Speaker must also be paid? Where do we draw the line. Already they get allowances, they get protection from the state at the expense of the taxpayer and I don’t have a problem with that”, he said in an interview on Neat FM.
Addressing the issue on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, Charles Owusu rubbished the law suits asking ”if we cancel the payment to the First Ladies, what will happen in this country? Will it cause people to die or have life?”
”Today, this or that person is going to court saying we won’t accept it…The thing is also that they are being paid already and the fact that you’re going to court doesn’t mean the government will decide today that it won’t have a budget for the First Lady’s office and the office of the Second Lady. Then we should close the office. Then we should propose that it’s not necessary to give an office to the First and Second Ladies any longer”, he expressed his disappointments.
He argued that ”just as we pay their husbands, they must also be paid. If they work, then we must pay them”.
To him, it is petty for any person to come against the salaries.
”Let us love ourselves. The pettiness is too much”, he therefore advised.
