Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin has urged the Government of Ghana to suspend payment of ex gratia to Article 71 office holders until 2038.

He contended that considering the prevailing financial constraints and the government’s vehement commitment to repaying the domestic debt to the last instalment, scrapping ex-gratia will be the best thing to do.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, the professor stated that, “We should be bold enough to suspend ex-gratia until 2038 because that is the year the last instalment under the restructured domestic debt will be paid.

“The State has determined that we are not in a position to even honour our financial obligations to creditors who willingly chose to sacrifice consumption, save and invest so Ghana government could have money to run its budget.”

He also emphasised that as it stands, the populace is dissatisfied with the performance of the administrative government, attributing the dissatisfaction to the economic crisis at hand.

Prof Bokpin further argued that given the current conditionalities of the IMF deal, there is very little space to increase salaries and other benefits for public sector workers.

 On the other hand, Dean of the UPSA Law School, Professor Kofi Abotsi also said that the existence of the ex-gratia in the Constitution seems to create a conflict.

Professor Abotsi explained that although the constitution envisaged a situation where the executive and legislature would serve as a check on each other in determining their emoluments, in reality, the contrary is happening.

“We've rather had a symbiotic cooperative and some would say dysfunctional relationship between these two entities in which one sees itself as having to reinforce the other.

“And so far, from they checking each other and ensuring that they are kept in bounds, very often we've had situations in which they have sort of promoted each other,” Prof. Abotsi emphasised.

The comments of the academics follow the inauguration of an Article 71 emoluments committee last week by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

There has been significant public opposition to the payment of ex gratia to political officeholders, which has led to the establishment of the committee, tasked to evaluate and determine the remuneration and benefits of key public officials.

The five-member committee is to be chaired by the immediate past chairperson of the Public Services Commission Dr. Janet Ampadu-Fofie.

Former President John Dramani Mahama, who will be seeking a return to office in next year's general elections, has vowed to ensure ex gratia is outlawed.