The Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has reiterated his stance on ex-gratia payments to Article 71 officeholders, asserting that these payments no longer serve their intended purpose.

Speaking at a public forum in Kumasi to mark the 30th anniversary of the Fourth Republican Parliament, Speaker Bagbin emphasised the need to amend the Constitution to abolish these payments.

He explained that the original intention behind ex-gratia payments was to combat corruption by assuring public servants and political officeholders that their needs would be taken care of after leaving office.

This assurance was meant to encourage them to prioritize the public’s interest over personal gain.

“The issue of ex gratia is a very thorny issue. The founders envisaged a situation where they wanted some particular category of public servants, including political officeholders. The ex gratia is not for members of Parliament and it’s not even ex gratia, it’s gratuity. There’s a difference between ex gratia and gratuity and it’s not for members of parliament alone.

“It cuts through a category of public servants and political officeholders, including auditor general, including the chairpersons of all the constitutional commissions, including ministers of state, the presidency, judiciary, and all others, it’s not just members of parliament,” the speaker stated.

He continued, “But the concept was to assure them, because of the importance of the position they occupy, and the decisions they take on your behalf, the concept was to assure them, don’t think about yourself, think about the people you represent because, after your office, we will take care of you. So it was to assist us to contain corruption. And I’m happy that a number of industrial chiefs from this region were members of the consultative assembly.”

Speaker Bagbin acknowledged that in practice, these payments have not effectively curbed corruption. “Unfortunately, in practice, it has not served its purpose. It has not been able to assist us to curb or contain corruption. And so when I made an attempt to contest as a presidential candidate, I did announce that if elected as president, I was going to ensure that that article is amended from the constitution. So I agree totally with anybody who comes to say that we should do away with Article 71 of the Constitution. It hasn’t served its purpose, there’s no use maintaining it,” he concluded.