Editorial: Prez Mahama: Is The State Sponsored Loot Going To Continue?

One of the major defects Ghanaians have found with the 1992 Constitution is the emoluments that have been given to the Article 71 office holders. Whilst ninety or so percent of Ghanaian workers rely on Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) when they go on retirement, that of the Article 71 office holders are different.

The emoluments of Article 71 office holders are determined by the constitution and as a result they are paid huge sums of money to the chagrin of other workers in the country. The reason why the framers of the constitution came out with this idea, we are told, was to deter corruption. Unfortunately, this argument cannot be supported anymore, because some of these Article 71 office holders are sometimes embroiled in corruption that defy logic.

Almost every eight years, former government officials who receive huge emoluments are put on trial for engaging in corruption. Sometimes, some of these Article 71 beneficiaries serve in government for more than two terms, but in each term they are paid these huge sums of money, when others are swimming in abject poverty after serving mother Ghana with all their hearts.

Another group of people who are feeding fact on the state are the Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) of the various state institutions. Sometimes the outputs of some of these state companies are nothing to write home about, yet their CEOs are paid unreasonable sums of money every month and when they are going on the so called retirement.

A typical example is the recent allegation that the CEO of State Insurance Company (SIC) is being paid a whopping GHS70, 000 every month and unreasonable fringe benefits assigned the position by the board of directors. We dare say that this crazy payment is not limited to the SIC. In fact, almost all the state owned companies are paying this gargantuan sums of money as salaries to their CEOs.

Interestingly, after pocketing these huge sums of money and running down the national economy, the same beneficiaries of the ‘state loot’ will run to the Bretton Woods Institutions cap in hand and begging for crumbs. This state sponsored loot should certainly not be entertained anymore and that is why we support President Mahama’s position that none of his ministers will be paid ex-gratia as stated in Article 71 of the national constitution.

The Chronicle is, however, worried that despite the promise made by President Mahama to compel all his appointees to sign an undertaking not to collect any emoluments when leaving office, nothing concrete has been done to convince Ghanaians that he meant what he said during the electioneering campaign.

Majority of the ministers have been appointed and are currently working, but the tax payer is yet to read or hear or see any of them signing the promised undertaking not to receive emoluments as spelt out in Article 71. We have seen on television the president handing over the instruments of office to these ministers, but silent on his promise to compel them to sign the undertaking we have already mentioned.

The Chronicle presumes that this is an oversight, but if it is deliberate not to mention the forfeiture of the emoluments in public when the ministers are being given their appointment letters after he (Mahama) has taken over the reins of power, then it is unfortunate.

In our view, the President must respect all that he told Ghanaians when he was begging them for their mandate to lead this country again. Otherwise his successor too will be punished for the ‘sins’ he has committed, as happened to Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government.

Mr Mahama promised transparent government and part of that transparency is to ask his appointees to publicly sign the commitment that they will not receive any emoluments, though they qualify for them. Signing this commitment in secrecy is not what the president promised his fellow Ghanaians. We are anxiously waiting to see what happens regarding the issue we have raised.

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