Investigations into NDC's double salary much ado about nothing - Allotey Jacobs

At least nine 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 issued with letters by the CID accusing them of stealing and asking them to assist with investigations.

The accused were said to have allegedly received double salaries as MPs and ministers, a claim most of them have denied. However, 16 of them were reportedly later called and apologized to by the CID with the investigative body still investigating nine others.

Following the incident, the Minority pledged to file a lawsuit against the CID for divulging the issue publicly.

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.

Commenting on the issue on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo, NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, believes the ongoing investigations into the matter will come to “naught”.

According to him, what needs to be done is to hold accountable, the institutions that paid the salaries to the MPs and Ministers and ensure they rectify the problem.

In Allotey’s view, 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”.