Payment of salary to spouses of President, Vice; Parliament exceeded its jurisdiction-Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Ghana has today declared the payment of salary to presidential spouses in Ghana as unconstitutional.

According to the apex court, these spouses do not fall under the category of public officers, thus faulting parliament for adopting the emolument committee report on the issue.

Supreme Court correspondent, Richard Osei Boateng indicates that the seven-member panel further held that parliament exceeded its jurisdiction by adopting the report putting presidential spouses on the same salary scale as Deputy Ministers.

This was the judgment in two suits filed by the Member of Parliament for North Day, Rockson Nelson dafeamekpor and NPP’s Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe Abronye respectively.

The writs were filled separately - one from the MP for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, and two others; MP for Builsa South, Clement Apaak and Frederick Nii Commey, who are urging the Court to declare as unconstitutional, the recommendation by the Professor Ntiamoah Badu-led Committee that suggested that the First and Second ladies be paid salaries just as Article 71 Office holders, specifically as Cabinet Ministers.

The second writ is by NPP Bono-Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe Abronye, also arguing same - that the committee's recommendations are inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution and that, it should be declared null and void.

Background

A five-member committee led by Prof Ntiamoa-Baidu was set up in June 2019 by President Akufo-Addo to make recommendations to him and Parliament on the salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities and privileges available to Article 71 officeholders.

They were charged to make recommendations in respect of emoluments and other privileges for Article 71 officeholders, as specified under the Constitution; and also to examine any other relevant matter which the committee deemed appropriate to its work.

Among its recommendations, a provision was made for emoluments to be paid to the spouses of the president and the vice president.

In January 2021, Parliament thus approved the Committee’s Report. However, the move to make formal, those payments, generated public uproar with many condemning it publicly and on social media.

The government through the Information Minister explained that such payments were not new but had existed under the Kuffuor administration and was just being formalized by the Akufo-Addo-led Government.

Several pressure groups and civil society also expressed their views on the matter and intentions to challenge the payments in court.