Presidents pay for nothing, why pay them salaries? – Ex-NDC MP asks

• This is the view of a former lawmaker George Loh

• He argues that presidential salaries should be pegged only for the purpose of determining the pensions 

Lawyer and former Member of Parliament for North Dayi in the Volta Region, George Loh has averred that it was not necessary in essence for sitting presidents to be paid salaries.

According to him, for persons (president and vice-president) whose total expenditure depended on tax payers, he did not see the need for salaries to be paid them.

“Even presidents for cosmetic reasons, if I had the opportunity, president shouldn’t even take salary. Because sincerely speaking, what does the president pay for? When you become president of Ghana having been duly sworn in, taken office, what do you pay for?

When asked about a president opting for instance to have a private lunch, he responded that presidents and even ministers always have spendable imprests available whenever and wherever.

“The president when he is moving around there is always a spendable imprest. Even as a Minister, when you travel with ministers they have spendable imprest,” he submitted.

He suggests that a salary scale should however be agreed for the president and his vice on which amount their retirement should be computed.

“I agree that they should retire on their salary, that is where the issue should be, because they should not come and serve and go back into penury,” he stressed whiles speaking on Citi TV’s ‘The Big Issue’ programme which aired last weekend.

The issue of emoluments has become topical in the last few days after it emerged that Parliament had approved a presidential emoluments committee report that among other things recommended that allowances to presidential spouses be formalized.

Following public outcry, the First and Second Ladies, Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Samira Bawumia respectively; in separate letters agreed to refund all payments made to them by the state since 2017.

The total amount comes up to about GH¢1.8 million cedis out of which the First Lady has shown proof of having refunded her portion which came up to GH¢899, 097.84.

Two minority MPs, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (South Dayi) and Clement Apaak (Builsa South) had dragged the government to court over the legality of the committee’s recommendation.

Bono East Chairperson of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Abronye DC is also at the Supreme Court seeking a similar determination.