Former President John Dramani Mahama (right) and wife Lordina Mahama
DAILY GUIDE has discovered the monthly salaries of former President John Dramani Mahama, his Vice, the late Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, as well as the allowances of their spouses, Lordina and Matilda when they were in office.
Mr. Mahama is currently on a crusade against the approval by Parliament of the Professor Ntiamoah-Baidu Committee Report which details the salaries and allowances payable to Article 71 office holders.
The report encapsulates the salaries and allowances of present and former First and Second Ladies, which Mr Mahama and his late vice’s wives enjoyed so much when he was President.
He has written a long article creating the impression that the economic situation in the country, as of now, is dire, and appeared to portray President Akufo-Addo as insensitive to the plight of the people for pushing for the official remuneration of the spouses of Ghana’s leaders, both past and present.
Salary Details
It is turning out that whilst in office, the former President’s salary and that of his Vice, as well as the allowance of their spouses got increased every year.
In 2012, Mr. Mahama who had succeeded the late President John Evans Atta Mills following his sudden death, was taking home a monthly salary of GH¢15,972 whilst his Vice got GH¢14,375.
The monthly allowance of the then First Lady Lordina Mahama was GH¢11,500 whilst that of the then Second Lady Matilda Amissah Arthur was GH¢11,340.
By 2013, Mr. Mahama’s monthly salary had reached GH¢22,464 and increased to GH¢24,710 in 2014. It increased to GH¢27,181 in 2015 and by the time he left office in 2016, he was taking GH¢29,899.
Mr. Amissah Arthur also received GH¢20,218 monthly in 2013, took GH¢22,239 in 2014, moved to GH¢24,463 in 2015, took home GH¢26,909 in 2016.
Mrs. Mahama collected a monthly allowance of GH¢17,073 in 2013, got GH¢18,780 in 2014, increased to GH¢20,658 in 2015 and enjoyed GH¢ 22,724 before her husband exited power in 2016.
Mrs. Amissah Arthur also collected a monthly allowance of GH¢16,848 in 2013, got GH¢18,533 in 2014, took home GH¢20,386 in 2015 and enjoying GH¢ 22,425 before leaving office.
Mahama’s Epistle
Following the approval of the report, Mr. Mahama said in a statement that “the issue of handling spouses of political office holders is not a new one. It has engaged the attention of all governments since the advent of the 4th Republic.”
He said “under various administrations, considering their sensitive positions, there had to be a consideration of how to support the spouses of the President and the Vice President in fulfilling the roles that our modern democracies expect them to play, such as empowering women, girl child education, reproductive health issues, teenage pregnancy, assistance to widows, fighting early marriage, preventing mother to child transmission of HIV, STEM for girls, and even as far as the welfare of grandmothers banished to witch camps.”
Some Expenses
Mr. Mahama said “the practice, thus far, has been that some expenses of the spouses of the President and Vice President in carrying out their expected roles are funded by the Office of the President. This includes fueling of vehicles, security, clerical staff, stationery, hosting of local and foreign guests and all such expenditures.”
He then said that “the distinction must be made, however, that this is separate from allowances payable to spouses of the President, Vice President, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents and former Heads of State.”
He traced the history of allowances of the spouses of the leaders and then attempted to present a picture that it was only President and his Vice who wanted the salaries of their spouses paid.
Raging Issue
“This week, a raging issue that has generated passionate debate among many Ghanaians, both on social media and in the traditional media space – TV and radio – has been in respect of a report, confirmed by Government that the spouses of President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia are to be placed on a monthly salary at the level of a Cabinet Minister,” he said, adding “We are told that the 7th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, which was dissolved at midnight of January 6, 2021, approved the recommendation in the Report of the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 Office Holders (January 2017 to December 2020), chaired by Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu.”
Austerity Time
Mr. Mahama said “the news, particularly at this time of austerity, has generated some level of outrage among the populace, and I can understand the anger of those opposing the recommendation of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee and its subsequent approval by Parliament.”
He even said “it should be made clear, also, that the recommendation in respect of spouses in the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee report, which covers the years January 7, 2017 to January 6, 2021, is solely in respect of the spouses of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia.”
Contradiction
He added that “the challenge, however, is that the spouses of the President and Vice President are not captured among Article 71 Office holders and, therefore, there is no legal or constitutional basis for it.”
It should be noted that the recommended salaries for the spouses in the Ntiamoa-Baidu report are captured as part of the emoluments of the President and the Vice President.
He even accused the President and his administration as if they are trying “to sneak the First and Second Ladies into the Article 71 office holders’ group,” when he claimed the committee did not make any such recommendation, saying “this is clearly problematic.”
He also accused Parliament of approving the committee’s report without ‘a review.”
TUC Wades In
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Secretary General Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah also waded into the debate with a statement on behalf of organised labour, saying “Ghanaians appreciate what the first and second ladies are doing to support women’s rights, child rights, and other noble initiatives towards social and economic development of our country,” adding “But neither the Constitution of Ghana nor the laws of land assign them any official duties and responsibilities.”
The statement said “Therefore, the Trades Union Congress cannot support the payment of salaries to the spouses of presidents and vice presidents even if the Ntiamoa-Baidu’s committee recommended the payment of such salaries,” adding “It is simply not right for anyone who has not been officially assigned duties and responsibilities in the public service to receive monthly salaries. The committee probably sought to regularise the payment of allowances which were being paid already. But you cannot regularise the payment of allowances which has no legal basis.”
Justifying Inclusion
Portions of the committee’s report had indicated that President Akufo-Addo “underlined the need to ensure balance between the emoluments of Article 71 office holders and those of the broader public sector,” adding that “the committee was tasked to ensure uniformity, particularly in the privileges of former Presidents.”
“The committee was tasked to correct all existing disparities in the emoluments of Article 71 office holders,” it said, adding “in this regard, the committee was entreated to build on the recommendations of the previous committees including being more specific and clearer on their recommendations.”
It also said “the committee was further tasked to determine the best way to treat spouses of former Presidents. It was revealed that the state in recent times assumed the responsibility of some of the basic needs of spouses of former Presidents, including the payment of monthly allowances.”
It said “the executive admits that this is a humanitarian gesture intended to support the spouses to lead decent lives befitting the status of their husbands,” adding “it was however, noted that this gesture is not supported by any legislative.”
The report also said, “the committee was therefore, called upon to advise on how to formalise the current arrangement through legislation and ensure that these benefits are clearly stated for the sake of transparency.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu