It has emerged that some Members of Parliament (MPs) opposed the decision to pay salaries to spouses of the President and Vice President.
MP for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor, said some of his colleagues raised objections prior to Parliament’s approval of the recommendation by the Professor Yaa Ntiamoah-Baidu Committee.
His comment is in reaction to a statement by Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah that Parliament approved the decision to pay the First and Second ladies.
Parliament has come under a barrage of attacks for approving constitutional illegality. Some argued that, since the First and Second ladies are not Article 71 office holders, they are not entitled to salaries.
Others, including MPs, have filed a writ at the Supreme Court to among other things restrain the President and ministries from implementing the recommendations of the Ntiamoah-Baidu committee.
In support, Mr Jinapor on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Thursday said the Supreme Court is the appropriate forum to settle the matter.
He maintained that Parliament somewhat could not do due diligence because the report was given to MPs very late.
“You can’t bring such a bulky document in a day when Parliament was rising; that was not fair to us,” he stressed.
Mr Jinapor added that “the attempt to bring them under article 71 is not the right thing to do.”
