The former member of the Council of State and Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV has maintained that when given another chance, he will reject the ex gratia over and over again.
The former President of the National House of Chiefs earlier this year stoke controversy when he returned to chess about Three Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 300,000.00) paid to him as ex gratia for serving as a member of the 7th Council of State.
That gesture by him got the nation divided and renewed the debate over the payment of ex-gratia to so called Article 71 office holders. Whiles many hailed Togbe Afede for returning the money, others described it as populist and only aimed at painting the other members of the council of state black.
But speaking at the first ever Asogli Anti-Corruption Day Celebration in Ho, as part of this year’s Yam Festival, Togbe Afede insisted that he did not deserve to be paid such a colossal amount of money as ex gratia for what was essentially a part-time job.
He argued that at a time when the country is going through economic difficulties, it is unconscionable for certain categories of public servants to be paid ex gratia on top of salaries they received. He has therefore recommended a review of Article 71 of the 1992 constitution.
Togbe also maintained that contrary to the impressions created that he was truant at Council of State meetings, he was actually one of the most active members of the Council. He also stated that he did not receive a dime as transport allowance because he registered as a resident of Accra and not Ho as suggested by a section of the media.
The respected chief cum businesses mogul served as an ex officio Member of the 7th Council of State from 7th January 2017 to 6th January 2021 by virtue of his position as the then President of the National House of Chiefs. He lost his bid to be retained as the President of the House of Chiefs, and consequently lost his membership of the Council of State.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com
