By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
April 18, 2018
Reports reaching DAILY GUIDE indicate that
the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service yesterday
grilled three Members of Parliament (MPs) who served as ministers in the
erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government over the raging double
salary scandal.
They were reportedly cautioned
with a charge of stealing and are to reappear before the CID on May 14.
The former appointees, according to reports, are Minister
of State in-Charge of Social and Allied Institutions, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe
Ghansah, who is NDC MP for Ada East and Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip; Eric
Opoku, NDC MP for Asunafo South and former Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister and Alhaji
Inusah Fuseini, NDC MP for Tamale Central and Minister of Roads and Highways.
The former NDC
appointees are being accused of taking double salaries as ministers and MPs
while serving in government under President John Mahama.
The minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, was said to
have held a meeting with his three colleagues in the morning before honouring
the CID invitation.
They appeared individually with their lawyers at the
CID headquarters in Accra and after writing their statements, they were said to
have been subjected to questioning before they were granted police enquiry
bail.
Already, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle
and former Minister of Energy and Petroleum and Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, MP for
Kpone Katamanso, who was the former Greater Accra Regional Minister, are said
to have been interrogated by the police and granted bail.
Also, a certain Bashir Fuseini Alhassan, who is
believed to be ABA Fuseini, NDC MP for Sagnerigu and former deputy minister for
the Northern Region, was also there at the weekend and was made to write a
statement before being admitted to bail.
‘Narrow’
And ‘Broad’
In the ensuing heat, Haruna Iddrisu, who is believed
to be part of the former appointees, who allegedly took double salaries, has
offered to give both what he calls ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ interpretations of the
matter.
Mr Iddrisu, who is scheduled to appear before the
CID on Thursday, told Joy FM yesterday that if the issue is viewed ‘narrowly’ the affected MPs
could be said to have taken double salaries, “but that should not be the case.”
He said rather the police should conduct a holistic
investigation into the matter and that that would point to discrepancies which
would not warrant criminalization of the matter.
Using Article 71 for his explanation, the former
minister of employment and labour relations said the issue of double salary
will hold if only “current ministers and MPs will not tomorrow accept any
addition to what is being paid them today as salary advance.”
He noted, “That will be interesting and intriguing
for us as a Republic. It means tomorrow when President Nana Akufo-Addo finally
sets up this committee (Emoluments Committee), the committee will make
recommendations which will in most instances occasion them receiving salary
arrears which will affect even payment of their gratuity and ex-gratia.
“So viewed narrowly you can say that ministers of
state and MPs are involved in double claims.”
No
Escape
However, a private legal practitioner, Gary Nimako,
who was also on Joy FM, said the
former appointees cannot escape blame over the double salaries issue.
“There is a cause for concern and there is a
question to answer. The Parliamentary Service, they pay the MPs and the
Accountant General pays the ministers and their deputies,” he stated on the
Newsfile programme, adding, “Some of them even took double salaries as MPs and ministers.”
According to the lawyer, “The fact of some people
saying that we did not know that we were receiving double money is not correct.
There is a source for every money you receive. If for instance, you are an MP
and you take MP salary of X amount, and you have been appointed as a minister,
clearly you do not have to take the MP salary again.”
Frantic
Efforts
During the weekend, some of the former NDC
appointees being investigated were said to be making frantic efforts to submit
their bank statements to the CID.
It emerged that a number of them sent their bank
statements for scrutiny by the CID, despite the claim by top-notch members of
the party that the move to investigate them was a case of ‘political
witch-hunt.’
Specific
Charge
The police have said that the alleged double salaries
saga “is contrary to Section 124 (1) of the Criminal and other Offences Act 1960
(Act 29) as amended in 2012 (Act 849).
Section 124 relates to the offence of stealing.”
The list appears to show that a good number of the
ministers, who served under former President John Mahama, took double salaries
for four years, whilst others received double salaries for two and three years,
probably because they were reshuffled.
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