The Ashanti regional chapter of the Ghana Association of Assembly Members(GAAM) in a unilateral voice has rejected proposal by the newly sector minister, Hon. Martin Agyei Mensah Korsah, minister designate for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development( MLGDRD), for their end-of-service benefit.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the association responded to a communique forwarded to regional ministers and to all 16 regional coordinating councils dated on Wednesday 24TH April, 2024 signed by the chief director of the local government ministry, Amin Abdul-Rahman, on behalf of the sector minister. According to the assembly members, the minister in no uncertain terms under the local governance law act 936 of 2016 can determine any rate for the payment of ex gratia for assembly members.
“We are saddened by the fact that the ministry quoted section 11 sub section 2 to buttress his argument. But the same section deviates from the directives of payment of emolument for presiding members and or assembly members,” they group stated.
They further gave explanation on how section 11 clause 2 act 936 of 2016 do not give out any mandate to any official to spell out or determine how honorable members end-of-service benefit should be paid. However, the said section mandates various assemblies to pay the presiding member and assembly members end-of-service gratuity through Internally Generated Fund(IGF) without recourse to any direction from the ministry.
The Ashanti chapter of the Ghana Association of Assembly Members(GAAM), has therefore described the communique by the chief director for the minister as one which is born out of ulterior motive to undermine the very honorable office of the assembly member.
“We have since the inception of the fourth republic seen a trend where local governance is demeaning. We have realized that the framers of the constitution disregarded the many contributions that decentralization plays in the affairs of governance. We strongly want to drum home our quest to revisit the directive by the minister and leave governance at the local level to those that matters. We will pardon him lightly because he is new in his portfolio and hope the right thing will be done,” they added.
Hon. Isaac Manu, secretary to the association and assembly member for Hiakose in the Amansei West district, urged all assembly members to reject the proposed partly 3000, 2500, and 2000 to be given to all MMDA’s as ex gratia for a four-year devotion to service.
“We direct all honorable members to reject any form of money that is directly in line with this directive from the minister. The courts will be our judge,” they ended.
