'Ato Forson after one year and nine months still decided not to pay our ex-gratia, give us our money' — Former Akufo-Addo's appointees demand

Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, a former presidential aide under the Akufo-Addo administration, has called on Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson to explain the delay in paying ex-gratia owed to former presidential appointees.

Tagoe, who served as a presidential aide, executive assistant and Head of Social Media at the Office of the President, said former appointees had waited for 1 year and 9 months without receiving the payments stipulated in their 2021 appointment letters.

He questioned why the payment situation under the current administration appeared different from what he described as the practice under the previous Mahama administration.

According to him, former presidential appointees under the Mahama government reportedly began receiving their ex-gratia payments in March 2017, only months after the change of government.

“So, after one year and nine months in office, the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson has decided not to pay us our ex-gratia as stated in our 2021 appointment letters?” Tagoe asked.

He also demanded an explanation for what he described as a change in the approach to ex-gratia payments under the current administration.

“Why are former appointees under the previous administration still waiting after one year and nine months? What has changed?” he said.

Tagoe argued that if the entitlement is expressly provided for in the appointment letters and there is no legal justification for withholding the payment, the Finance Minister should account for the delay.

“If the entitlement is clearly stated in our appointment letters and government has no legal basis for withholding it, then the Finance Minister owes us an explanation and, more importantly, our money,” he said.