Martin Amidu
Apart from the attractive working conditions for employees of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), spouses of the employees will be vetted by the Office to find out whether they are security risk to the operations of the Office.
The caveat which is enshrined in the Office of the Special Prosecutor Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2373) said that any employee who intends to marry must notify the OPS not later than three months before the marriage for security clearance to be given before the marriage could take place.
According to the Office of the Special Prosecutor Legislative Instrument 2373 which matured on Saturday, December 22 in Parliament, the OPS may disapprove of employees’ marriages if they pose security risk to the operations of the Office.
“If the employee insists on proceeding with the marriage irrespective of the disapproval of the Special Prosecutor (SP), the SP may direct the employee to resign or be dismissed,” the Vice Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor who read the committee’s report after the maturity of the LI 2373 said in parliament.
The LI which was drafted in consonance with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) conditions said it will be a major breach of terms of Oath for an employee to engage in any activity outside official duty which is likely to compromise the political neutrality of the employee or lead to employee taking an improper advantage of his official position.
“Minor breaches of discipline include insubordination to superior authority, sleeping on duty and being drunk on duty among others” the L.I. said.
In terms of allowances, employees will be entitled to duty allowance, risk allowance and others which are calculated on percentages of their basic salaries determined in accordance with government pay policy.
A senior employee will be paid batman allowance in addition; batman allowance is a percentage of the basic salary determined in accordance with government’s pay policy. It is an allowance paid to an employee in respect of the person’s domestic servant.
Officers of the OPS will be entitled to both monthly and commuted pensions. An employee of the rank of Principal Staff Officer or above shall retire on the consolidated monthly salary.
However, an employee of the rank of Senior Staff Officer or below shall be paid a monthly pension equivalent to sixty percent of the consolidated monthly salary of the employee.
According to the LI 2373, where an officer who has proceeded on retirement lives for less than 20 years after retirement, the Office shall pay to the estate of the deceased, the commuted pension which shall be calculated on the product of the unexpired period of the 20 years multiplied by the monthly pension of the employee at the time of death.
Meanwhile, parliament has approved the Appropriation Bill, 2018 late Saturday evening before it rose for the Christmas break which will allow the government to spend not more than GH¢78,771,883,602 (GH¢78.7 billion) to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund for the fiscal year, 2019 beginning January 1 to December 31, 2019.
Parliament will resume in the last week of January, 2019 for the first meeting of the third session of the Seventh Parliament.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr