Former President John Kufuor has defended his stance of subscribing Ghana to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative in 2001.
Mr. Kufuor noted the decision was strategic as donor partners had abandoned the country with things run down for long but with the subscription, the country’s debt were forgiven while the macro-economic situation of the country improved.
Meanwhile the former president has sought to explain the full picture behind his submission that since leaving office, he’s not been paid his gratuity also known as ex-gratia.
The statesman who recently turned 80 told media man Daniel Dadzie that he’s not received his gratuity because former president, Mills had noted that Mrs. Chinnery Hesse’s report on gratuity payments for former presidents had not been adopted, he set up the Yamson Committee, later to become the Prof. Ewurama Addy Committee to tackle the issue but no regular payments were made.
It emerged even with his former appointee, Akufo-Addo being president nearly two years on, it appears a definite procedure is not in place to handle the payments.
Since the news broke, aide to the former president; Dr. Kwabena Osei-Adubofour has rendered a release to clarify issues.
Re: President Kufuor has not been paid his Ex-Gratia
The Office of Former President John Kufuor has come across some publications in the Ghanaian media to the effect that the former president is complaining that successive governments have refused to pay him the ex-gratia due him when he concluded his tenure as president in January 2009.
This office wants to make it clear that though the truth is still that President Kufuor has not been paid his ex-gratia, the reporter sensationally mischaracterized what he said and the circumstances under which he said that. The interviewer, Daniel Dadzie, specifically asked whether Mr. Kufuor’s ex-gratia has been paid. He answered that upon assuming office in January 2009, the late President John Atta-Mills declared that the Chinnery-Hesse report was not approved so it could not be used to pay Mr. Kufuor’s ex-gratia. However, at the subsequent vetting of the then-new ministers in parliament, Hon Alban Bagbin confirmed that the report had, indeed, been approved by parliament. Despite this fact, the two NDC administrations from 2009 to 2017 did not pay the ex-gratia due former President Kufuor.
Indeed, former President Kufuor specifically replied the Joy-FM’s interviewer that he had intentionally not brought the issue up with the present NPP government, though he intends to do so at an opportune time. It must be stated here that Joy-FM had sought the interview and must therefore eschew sensationalizing it.
Signed
Dr. Kwabena Osei-Adubofour
Senior Aide and Spokesman for President John Kufuor
By: Michael Eli Dokosi/goldstreetbusiness.com