First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has walked the talk by refunding to the state of Ghana, all monies paid to her as allowances since her husband was sworn-in as President.
Her action follows the backlash that has sparked following a recommendation by the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee which was approved by Parliament to put her and second lady, Samira Bawumia on a monthly remuneration.
Wontumionline.com, has intercepted a statement from the office of the First Lady that states that “…The First Lady has taken note of the ongoing conversation in the nation, following on from these recommendations and their bipartisan approval by Parliament, as mandated by the Constitution as the body which approves the emoluments of the Executive.”
“It is important to state that payment of such allowances existed and was made to previous First Ladies in the course of the 4th Republic, prior to Mrs. Akufo-Addo becoming the First Lady. Mrs. Akufo-Addo did not request to be paid any allowance. She only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.”
The statement continued “That notwithstanding, the public discussion has been laced with some extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as venal, self-serving and self-centered woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.”
“In view of this, the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHC899,097.84.”
“The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament”.
Her action now puts the ball in the court of former First Lady Lordina Mahama. Ghanaians would be monitoring her and are expecting her to emulate the action of Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
Full statement below…
Visit WONTUMI TV LIVE on Youtube for more VIDEOS
