Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah, a Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is alleging that the state has spent approximately GH¢32 million on former President John Dramani Mahama since he left office in 2017.
He has thus called on Ghanaians not to believe the former President when he criticizes wasteful public spending having allegedly grabbed $32 million as ex-gratia.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Owusu-Bempah noted that accountable leadership and former President John Mahama have no correlation, stating that the former president has been claiming expenses on his current residential property and emoluments since 2017.
He has received as much as GH¢18 million from the taxpayer, in addition to GH¢14 million in ex-gratia.
Even though Mr Mahama is pledging to scrap ex-gratia when voted to power again, he continues to swim in stupendous wealth from the state.
He added that Mr. Mahama, apart from the GH¢14 million ex-gratia, retired on a salary of GH¢22,809, up from the non-taxable salary of GH¢15,972 previously approved for presidents.
“However, he now receives GH¢35,000 monthly due to the recent increase in emoluments as recommended by the Presidential Emoluments Committee on the conditions of service of Article 71 officeholders’ report,” he noted.
“Essentially, since Mahama was voted out of office in 2017, he has received a non-taxable salary of GH¢1,934,832.00. He has also received GH¢9,123.00 monthly as rent. This means that since 2017, when Ghanaians voted against John Mahama, he has received an accommodation allowance totaling GH¢629,487.00,” Mr. Owusu-Bempah added.
Regarding other expenses, Mr. Owusu-Bempah alleged that Mr. Mahama, while in retirement, still receives benefits such as state-provided staff not exceeding four, including his niece, Joyce Bawa Mogtari and Felix Ofosu Kwakye, who receive GH¢9,000 each month as allowances.
He also has a furnished and up-to-date office located in Cantonments, Accra, complete with communication equipment and staff support, which includes a cook, steward, and gardener.
For transport, he indicated that Mr. Mahama has been given two Toyota Land Cruiser V8 vehicles, a chauffeur, maintained and comprehensively insured by the State, and changed every four years for life, with each V8 costing GH¢800,000.00, summing up to over GH¢1.6 million.
“Also, the state fuels each vehicle weekly at a cost of GH¢2,000, thereby amounting to GH¢324,000 since he was voted out of office in 2017.
In terms of overseas official travel, the state has funded 18 trips of former President Mahama, amounting to over $1,000,000.00.
“In all, we are talking about some GH¢32 million state money that the former President has greedily enjoyed,” he said.
Mr. Owusu-Bempah highlighted that Mr. Mahama is the only President in the Fourth Republic who has received such a huge ex gratia and continues to receive an unprecedented end-of-service package which no former president has ever enjoyed.
“I don’t even want to go into all the emoluments that this ingrate of a former president has enjoyed from his days as Assemblyman, Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Minister, Vice President, and President of Ghana. At this opportune time, I don’t know what’s more heartbreaking; Mahama’s gluttonous self-indulgenced or his hypocrisy and double standards. I guess the political correctness raison d’être; something that’s legal but yet immoral. In fact, it’s always interesting to know, in these recessionary times when everyone is struggling, that Mr. Mahama is actually draining the state coffers while at the same time campaigning to be president again,” he noted.