Stop paying gratuities to more than one term MPs - Group

Pressure Group, National Redemption Volunteer, has called for the State to halt the payment of gratuities to Members of Parliament who have returned to the House on more than one occasion.

It also called for the same for members of a second term government.

Mr. Richmond Owusu-Frimpong, National Chairman of the Group, who made the statement at a news conference in Accra on Thursday, said such rituals not only put constraints on the State but also deprived it of the necessary resource for development for the citizenry.

Mr. Owusu-Frimpong, therefore, called for immediate steps to be taken to amend Article 71 of the Constitution, which guaranteed such remuneration.

“This is unacceptable in the 21st century Ghana. We, therefore, demand that the large ex-gratia paid every four years to parliamentarians be halted immediately and the monies spent for the betterment of our rural folks,” he said.

Article 114 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “a person who has served as a Member of Parliament for a period of not less than four years shall be eligible for the payment of gratuity to him or his personal representative as shall be determined by the President acting in consultation with the committee referred to in Article 71.”

Article 71 office holders include the President, the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice, and Justices of the Supreme Court.

The rest; are Members of Parliament (MPs), Ministers of State, political appointees, and public servants.

Mr. Owusu-Frimpong also noted that the continuous appointment of chairpersons of state institutions such as the Electoral Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Auditor-General, by the President created room for suspicions and mistrust.

He, therefore, called for such powers to be given to Parliament or an independent body.

“Article 70, should be amended to handover the appointment of the Electoral Commissioner, Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the Auditor-General to Parliament or a different body instead of the President.

“This will end the suspicions and disagreements that the government is using state institutions to harass its political opponents and restore citizens’ confidence in them.”