Double Salary: The Tom and Jerry politics will amount to nothing – Allotey Jacobs

The back and forth over the alleged ‘Double Salary’ scandal is quite unnecessary and will yield no results NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has said.

Mr. Jacobs who describes the issue as a ‘systematic glitch’ believes getting the appropriate institutions in charge of issuing salaries to fix the problem and ensure a repetition of the same is averted subsequently is the ultimate solution rather than focus on an issue which had been overlooked prior to this.

In his words the CID investigations “will amount to nothing. Look, it has been a systematic glitch. It is there. If we didn’t see it during our era and now we’re out of government, when we’re talking about it; let’s correct the institutions that are supposed to ensure somebody doesn’t receive double pay…This Tom and Jerry type of politics we’re doing will amount to nothing”, he said on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ show.

Some members of the Minority in Parliament including the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu are being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service for allegedly receiving double salaries.

A total of 25 ex-appointees were initially invited by the CID for questioning over allegations of having received double salaries as MPs and ministers, a claim most of them have denied. 18 of them were reportedly later called asked to disregard the invite by the CID.

8 persons so far have been interrogated by the CID. Meanwhile minority in parliament have vehemently denied the allegations tagging it as a witch-hunt attempt by government.

They argued that it is false that some 25 members of the NDC MPs, who were former ministers and deputy ministers, were paid double salaries as MPs and also as ministers and that what is seen as double salaries were paid in lieu of accumulated arrears the government owes them.

“It is important to note that the Minister of Finance instructed the Auditor-General to subject the releases to audit and reconciliation to determine the actual amounts due each individual Article 71 officeholder since they had only been paid in advance. This was done and it emerged that the government owed the Article 71 officeholders huge salary arrears,” the minority said.



Meanwhile, Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has said that he will not have the conscience to prosecute ordinary Ghanaians if the double salary matter is not dealt with appropriately, he is therefore calling that the issue be interrogated appropriately and sanctions accorded where found guilty.

Parliament committee to probe alleged ‘double salary’ saga

Already, Parliament has announced the formation of a two-member bi-partisan committee to investigate the double salaries scandal.

Speaking to Citi News, Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, said the committee is expected to provide some clarity on the issue in order for the matter to be put to rest.

“The two-man committee involves Dr.Anthony Akoto Osei and Benjamin Kpodo. Initially, it was Ato Forson who was to join Dr. Akoto Osei to do this exercise. Unfortunately, before the committee could start, Ato Forson took a position, lampooning the police. And we felt that by that action he had compromised himself and he was replaced.”

“I believe that in the next couple of days, they would, touching base with our financial directorate and subsequently with the Controller and Accountant General, be able to assist the police in unraveling the truth and then we will take it from there,” he added.