Mills keeps mute

…over controversial Chinery-Hesse report

President John Evans Atta Mills has decided not to comment on the raging controversy surrounding recommendations of the much-publicised Chinery-Hesse Report, on the retirement package for members of the Executive and Legislative arms of government.

Sources close to the President told The Chronicle that he did not intend to comment on the issue, considering the heat it has generated over the last couple of days, since news of the whooping emoluments to former Presidents, Ministers and Members of Parliament broke.

Though Presidential Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga, has persistently refused to answer his phone to respond to questions bordering on some of these issues that the press would like to know the President’s position on, Head of the Communications Directorate at the seat of government, Koku Anyidoho, told that the paper that a decision would be taken without the President necessarily commenting on them.

According to him, the government would consider the opinions and sentiments being expressed by the teeming Ghanaian populace on the subject matter, since it would impact on the decision-making process.

This, according to him, was because “it is the will of the people that must reign supreme, and once the will of the people is moving in a positive direction, the government will have no option, but to take that into consideration.”

Whilst admitting that he had not picked the President’s thoughts on the issue, Koku was of the conviction that Professor Mills would not like to comment on the issue.

Instead, he noted that he would take the concerns expressed by the teeming Ghanaian populace into consideration, before he takes any concrete decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, would-be members of the Castle Press Corps, who have been covering the activities at the Presidency, have expressed reservations about the lack of communication between them and the Presidential Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga.

Most of them believe Ayariga has been avoiding the press for unknown reasons. Several attempts made to interview him, to know the President’s position on the ongoing debate about emoluments for former presidents, have proved futile.

Hesse Committee Report on Emoluments for former presidents.

The Chinery-Hesse report entitles former Presidents to a fully-furnished residence in Accra and another outside the capital, with office and guest accommodation to be maintained by State Protocol with adequate staff, paid overseas travels, six comprehensively insured, fuelled and chauffeur-driven vehicles, to be replaced every four years, and the provision of $1 million as seed money for the establishment of a non-governmental organization, to be managed by the former President, among other entitlements.

It further suggests that physical assets in the ex-gratia award should revert to the family of the former President in the case of his death.