Restrain Your Idle Miscreants- Prez Mahama warns Govt over GHC14m Ex-gratia claims
Former President John Mahama has sent a stem warning to the Chief of Staff and the Presidency, the seat of Government to release details of Ex-gratia paid to him from the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government or restrain its members from spreading falsehood about him in the media.
According to the former President, a member of the governing party, Kwame Baffoe, has claimed in the media that, an amount of GHC14 million had been paid to him as benefits of the former President.
A press statement issued by Special Aide to immediate former Ghana’s President, Madam Joyce Bawa Mogtari said, “President Mahama never took any such ex-gratia payment of GH¢14 million in 2013 or at any other time during his 25 years of distinguished public service.”
It added that, fortunately, exgratia payments are a matter of public record and are available in the office of the Chief of Staff or the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
The office of the former President, therefore, challenged the office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidency to provide proof of the payment of any such amount or stop using what the Special Aide in the statement described as “ idle miscreants among its ranks to spread falsehood.”
Below is the full Statement
Press Release
JOHN MAHAMA DENIES GH¢14M EX-GRATIA CLAIMS
The Office of HE John Dramani Mahama has become aware of another false and scurrilous claim by a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, that former President Mahama “… took home the fattest ex-gratia of GH¢14 million in 2013…”
We urge the public to ignore the unintelligent rants of the said Kwame Baffoe who has gained notoriety for fabricating and propagating falsehood on behalf of Nana AkufoAddo against John Mahama. His claims are false.
President Mahama never took any such ex-gratia payment of GH¢14 million in 2013 or at any other time during his 25 years of distinguished public service. Fortunately, exgratia payments are a matter of public record and are available in the office of the Chief of Staff or the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
We challenge the office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidency to provide proof of the payment of any such amount and stop using idle miscreants among its ranks to spread falsehood.
It will be surprising if any such payment had been made to the former President and has not been reflected in any of the numerous Auditor General’s reports presented to Parliament since 2013.
We know that it is a stock in trade of President Akufo-Addo and his cronies to launch a campaign of calumny and false allegations against the personality of President Mahama anytime they have their backs against the wall.
As usual, this latest falsehood is a failed decoy to suppress the national discussions about the hardship Ghanaians are going through because of the clueless, inept, hopeless incompetence and poor governance of the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administrations.
It is a porous response to John Mahama’s promise to urgently re-look and review issues related to the emoluments of Article 71 office holders including ex-gratia payments.
We want to reiterate the points made by President Mahama recently that a next NDC Government will run an administration with a leaner government and far less ministers than Ghana has ever seen and ensure a cut in waste and exercise of frugality in everything Government does.
The NDC is also committed to the implementation of a review of the 1992 Constitution, which should among others, place a cap on the number of Supreme Court Justices and face the issues of Article 71 head on.
Signed: –
Joyce Bawah Mogtari
Special Aide to HE John Dramani Mahama
Cantonments- Accra
Monday September 05, 2022.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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