‘I Am Against “Inappropriate” Payments Made To People Who Serve This Poor Country’ – Togbe Afede

The Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State in the Volta Region, Toge Afede XIV, has rejected a purported transfer of approximately GHC 365,000 made into his account for services rendered as a member of the Council of State.

In an open letter, apparently in response to rumours of the said transfers into his account, the business man/chief indicated that in the process of filing his tax returns last year, he received some tax receipts from the Council of State Secreriat in relation to a total sum of GHC 365,392.67 paid into his account.

Upon further checks, he established the payment was his portion of ex-gratia payments for having served on the Council for 4 years.

However, the renowned chief admitted he felt “uncomfortable” with the payments and sought advice as to how to refund the money, noting that they were paid salaries while serving on the Council.

“After weeks of trying, I obtained advice on how to refund [the] inappropriate payments made to the state, and on March 4, 2022, I made the refund into the Controller and Accountant General’s Department Suspense Account at the Bank of Ghana,” the letter said.

He stated that he had accompanied the refund with a letter to the Secretary of the Council of State, asserting that his work on the Council did not deserve the payment of the aforementioned “colossal” amounts for a “part-time” job.

Togbe Afede further said that “my rejection of the payment was consistent with my general abhorrence of the payment of huge ex-gratia and other outrageous benefits to people who by their own volition offered to serve our poor country.”

The matter of ex-gratia payments has been a contentious one over the years, with a wide section of the citizenry calling for its cancellation.

The Law Dictionary defines ex-gratia payment as a “payment made (for example, by an employer to an employee) where there is no contractual requirement to do so”.

In Ghana, it is given effect by article 71 of the 1992 constitution, which allows the President to set up a committee periodically to compute, determine, and pay the ex-gratia of certain individuals, referred to as Article 71 holders. Article 71 holders include the President, Vice President, Speaker of Parliament, and members of Parliament, among others.

Last year, the 275 members of Ghana’s Parliament received various sums of money, representing ex-gratia, for their 4-year service between 2016 and 2020, a step that sparked massive public outrage.