Forty (40) former Members of Parliament, who served under the Kufuor Administration, have sued the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Finance over pensions owed them, demanding at least GHc 233,495 each.
Among the plaintiffs are the Senior Minister in the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, and the acting New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Freddie Blay and Kwamena Bartels.
The initial lump sum was said to be GHc 13,735 per plaintiff, but interest accrued on the amount from January 2009 to February 2016 raises the amount to GHc 233,495.
That would mean government would have to give out almost GHc 10 million to settle the former MPs.
The plaintiff’s claim is anchored on one of the recommendations by the Chinery-Hesse Committee Report, which says that persons who exited Parliament, having served two full term periods and are above 50 years, should be paid some sums of money as pension benefits.
Among the other reliefs, the disgruntled MPs are also praying the court refund their legal bills.
The former MPs have since 2011 been negotiating with government regarding the pensions, but the attempts to have their demands met have proved futile.
They noted in their writ that, in a letter dated June 25, 2015, the Attorney General directed the Ministry of Finance to make the payments, but the Minister of Finance at the time refused, neglected or failed to make the payments as directed.
The former MPs said the conduct of the Finance Minister caused them much distress and suffering, as most of them are unemployed and unable to sustain their families as their advanced age made it difficult to find employment.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
