First Lady rejects ‘presidential spousal salary’: To refund allowances received since 2017

First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has rejected any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Badu Committee.

She has also indicated her decision to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office from January 2017 to date.

A statement from the Office of the First Lady and signed by the Director of Communications, Korkor Bleboo, indicated that the payment of allowances existed and was made to previous First Ladies in the course of the 4^th Republic prior to Mrs. Akufo-Addo becoming the First Lady.

Public discussion, it said, has however been laced with extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centred woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

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“Mrs. Akufo-Addo did not request to be paid any allowance. She only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.”

“In view of this, the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office; from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84,” the statement said.

Read the full text of the statement below:

FROM THE FIRST LADY OF THE REPUBLIC, MRS. REBECCA AKUFO-ADDO, ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE, ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 71 OF THE CONSTITUTION

The attention of the First Lady of the Republic, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo’ has been drawn to the recommendations of the Committee established pursuant to Article 71 of the Constitution (the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee), which, among other things, seek to regularise the payment of allowances to spouses of the current President and the Vice President, former Heads of State, Presidents and Vice Presidents, respectively, as part of the privileges due the President and Vice President under Article 71 of the Constitution.

The First Lady has taken note of the ongoing conversation in the nation, following on from these recommendations and their bipartisan approval by Parliament, as mandated by the Constitution as the body which approves the emoluments of the Executive.

It is important to state that payment of such allowances existed and was made to previous First Ladies in the course of the 4^th Republic, prior to Mrs. Akufo-Addo becoming the First Lady. Mrs. Akufo-Addo did not request to be paid any allowance. She only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.

That notwithstanding, the public discussion has been laced with some extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centred woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

In view of this, the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.

The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament.

She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament.

The First Lady does not want these matters to serve as a distraction from the good work that the President, who is currently touring the Savannah and Upper West regions, is doing to develop our dear nation.

The First Lady will continue to support the President, as she has always done, in the execution of the mandate entrusted to him by the good people of Ghana.

Korkor Bleboo

Director of Communications – Office of the First Lady

Frontpageghana.com/Ghana