A group has petitioned the Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe allowances paid to past and present presidential spouses.
According to the group who has interest in governance, politics, constitutionalism and rule of law, it want the allowances paid to the sitting and former first ladies to be refunded after probe.
In line with this, the petitioners feel allowances given to previous First and Second Ladies, especially under the National Democratic Congress government from 2009, ought to be retrieved and paid to the Consolidated Fund.
The petitioners noted that former president Mahama has already admitted that allowances of First and Second Ladies are already covered under the budget of the Office of the President.
“We contend that there is no legal basis for including them and any related activity of theirs in the budget of the Office of the President,” the petitioners said in response to this.
“Secondly, the Office of the President is a public office and at no time has the First and Second Ladies portfolios been a department of the Office of the President. It is therefore untenable to advance tax payers money meant for the Office of the President to a First or Second Lady,” they added.
Thus, the petitioners want CHRAJ to:
a. Investigate the legal propriety of the payment of allowances to wives of incumbent Presidents and Vice Presidents, and demand a refund if found inappropriate;
b. Investigate a possible case of conflict of interest in the determination of the amount paid as allowances to incumbent First and Second Ladies at the time of payment;
c. A disclosure of the entire amount paid to all sitting First and Second Ladies (on individual basis) from 2009 to 2021; and
d. Make consequential orders and recommendations for the consideration of the State.
Source: GhanaFeed.com
