President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday inaugurated a five-member Emoluments Committee to make recommendations on the salaries and allowances payable to Article 71 holders.
The Article 71 holders include members of the executive, the Legislature, Judiciary, Constitutional bodies and other servants specified.
The committee is also to determine the facilities and privileges available to same office holders and make recommendations to the Presidency and Parliament for consideration.
Chaired by Dr Janet Fofie, the immediate past chairperson of the Public Services Commission (PSC), the committee is to make recommendations in respect of emoluments and other privileges for Article 71 office holders, as specified under the Constitution, and examine any other relevant matters which the committee will deem appropriate to its work.
The other members of the committee are Professor Gyan Baffour, former Minister for Planning and former Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC); Ms Gloria Ofori Boadu, a former governing member of the African Peer Review Mechanism under the New Partnership for African development (NEPAD); Dr Osei Akoto, an academic at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER University of Ghana, and Mr Ben Arthur, Head of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
Inaugurating the committee at the Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday, President Akufo-Addo said constitution of the committee was upholding a constitutional imperative.
He said “A few moments ago, I undertook one of the most important constitutional obligation of the president- that is the inauguration of the five-member committee sanctioned by Article 71 (1) of the constitution to make recommendation to the President and parliament for their decision on salaries and allowances payable and the facilities and privileges available to Article 71 office holders.”
President Akufo-Addo noted that the composition of the committee was done on the advice of the Council of State and the members appointed were responsible Ghanaians who were eminently qualified to undertake such an important exercise.
He said the terms of reference for the committee were in two folds and these included; to make recommendations in respect of emoluments and other privileges for Article 71 holders as specified under the constitution and to examine any other relevant matter which the committee deemed appropriate to its work.
President Akufo-Addo said it appeared that every President so elected was bound to establish such a committee as such it was important that the country examined the practice of other jurisdiction for example the American one where the principles were established and automatically adjusted according to certain objective criteria.
He said the need for an acceptable criteria for determining emoluments of Article 71 holders would have to be an issue of further constitutional debate and decision.
“Meanwhile, it is important to bring to the table work of previous committees, namely those led by Miranda Greenstreet, Mary Chinery-Hesse, Ishmael Yamson, Mariam Ewurama Addy, Francisca Eduboandoh and Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidoo in the conduct of your work to be able to establish some consistency,” he said.
On her part, Dr Fofie who is also an eminent lawyer and public policy expert, thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them to serve on such an important national assignment.
She pledged that the committee would examine all previous reports and any other document related to the subject including all the previous report.
“It is my hope that the committee will get valuable insights, view inputs and support from all stakeholders to enable us deliver a comprehensive and timely report to his Excellency for your consideration and approval,” Dr Fofie concluded.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
