Government has refuted claims that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had wanted to pay former ministers and Article 71 holders who worked under former President John Agyekum Kufuor, of which he, President Akufo-Addo was a member.
According to a Memo issued in relation to a statement made by Kelvin Taylor to that effect, the President has no such intention.
There was a publication which was believed to have emanated from Kelvin Taylor of Loud Silence Media under the headline ” Exposed: Akufo-Addo Trying to Pay Article 71 Office Holders under Kufuor.”
The Memo signed by the Acting Chief Director at the Presidency, H. M. Wood and copied to the Chief of Staff, however indicated that it is the right of every Ghanaian who believe to be owed by the State to make a claim for payment, and that in the exercise of that right, some former members of parliament from the Forum for Members of Parliament, submitted a request for payment of arrears of salaries or emoluments they believed were owed to Members of the fourth Parliament, 2005 to 2009 by the State.
The said letter of request according to the Memo, was dated April 17, 2020 with No. FFMP/03P/OPR/17420.
He also mentioned that it is the responsibility of the Auditor General to verify and make recommendation on the requests for such payment.
Meanwhile, he averred that when the request from the Forum for Former Members of Parliament was made, it was forwarded to the Auditor General who is vested with the responsibility to vet such claim.
“We wish to reiterate that the request was not given any special treatment and the action which was taken falls in line with the laid down procedures where all such claims for payment are verifies before approvals are made for payment,” he said.
- M. Wood however noted that the claims being peddled lacked merit and can be described as a propaganda crafted to throw dust into the eyes of the public and mislead the public into believing that the office had acted wrongly.
