A few days ago, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah explained that the payment of allowances to spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents is not a new thing
According to him, the allowance payments were instituted under the Kufuor administration, but were only being formalised by the current government.
President Kufuor, in his wisdom, instituted this because of the bad situations of some spouses of some former heads of states then. President Mills and Mahama even increased the rates of these benefits during their time
he said
Meanwhile, this payment which has come into effect will be backdated from 2017 when the NPP government came to power to 2021 and paid to them.
While the payment of allowances to the First and Second Ladies is not new, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has clarified the new move by saying:
The truth of the matter is that all surviving spouses of Heads of State, current and former, have always received salaries. Lordina Mahama, Naadu Mills, Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Faustina Acheampong, Fulera Liman etc have all been receiving salaries since President Kufuor’s time
What has happened now is that the arrangement has been made formal, but that was done legally based on the recommendation by the Emoluments Committee [in 2019]
he added
Below is the new salaries the President Nana Addo, First Lady Rebecca Addo, Vice President Mohammadu Bawumia, Second Lady Samira Bawumia, the Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, Electoral Commission Chairperson and Council of State will be paid every month.
