Minority denies double salary allegations

The Minority in Parliament has debunked media reports that appointees of the erstwhile Mahama administration received double salaries and have opted to refund the extras to the state.
At a press conference in Accra on Tuesday (April 10, 2018) the Minority spokesperson on finance and a former deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson said they would sue the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police and some newspapers for fuelling this allegation.

“We must state for the records that contrary to the claims by the Daily Guide, no appointee has offered to make refunds of double salaries.”

“Our attention has been drawn to a publication in today’s Daily Guide newspaper alleging that some 22 Article 71 appointees of the erstwhile Mahama administration were overpaid whilst serving as Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament. The said publication can only be a figment of the imagination of a government that continues to betray the trust of the people,” he added.

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“Last week, twenty-five of us received strange letters and phone calls from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service inviting us to confer with Mrs M.Y.T. Addo-Danquah, Deputy Commissioner of Police and to assist in investigations of allegations of double salaries made against us by Government.”

“In a bizarre twist, as we were readying to appear before the CID this week beginning from yesterday considering that we had been grouped to appear on separate days, the CID called some of our colleagues to inform them that they were no longer required to appear as they had made mistakes with 18 of the 25 Minority MPs originally contacted,” Minority spokesperson for Finance Cassiel Ato Forson addressed the media on Tuesday.

He accused the government of trying to intimidate the members of the opposition to prevent them from criticizing the Akufo-Addo administration.

“Government must really be in an indecent hurry to divert attention from its failings by this pathetic attempt to cow us into submission. No wonder Government ended up with eggs on its face yesterday.”

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However, the minority said they are not perturbed and would continue to perform their constitutional and democratic duties.

“Those assurances given, we know a witch-hunt when we see one. We wish to send a crystal clear message to the Akufo-Addo Government that the Minority will not be intimidated nor cowed into shirking our democratic and constitutional duties.”

“We shall remain resolute and faithful to our mandate and the high expectations of the people who elected us to represent them in Parliament,” Mr Forson emphasised.