Monday, January 19, 2009
Should Presidents retire with such luxurious packages?
The presidential committee on emolument has recommended a lavish living for ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor for serving his two consecutive terms as president of Ghana. The committee recommended that the former president should be given fully furnished residences that befit a former president at a place of his choice - one in Accra and another out of the national capital. In addition, the former president would be entitled among other privileges, to six fully maintained comprehensively insured, fuelled and chauffeured-driven cars to be replaced every four years. The fleet comprise of three salon cars, two cross country cars and one all-purpose vehicle. (Source: JoyFm). Our presidents deserve a decent requirement package however the question is, 'should our Presidents be given lavish retirement packages whilst the majority of Ghanaians suffer?'
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My short answer to this question? A Big Fat NO!!!! Being elected president of one's country is a distinct honour exclusively reserved for a select few individuals. The honour and prestige in itself is reward enough, because it allows a person access to certain quarters the general populace would never dream of reaching. Whoever dreamed up this package must have thought Ghana had changed its name to Brunei because of the oil find. No amount of explanations can justify this outrage. In my humble opinion, the only assurances a departing president should be getting in addition to a fixed pension amount should be security and health care. If he or she needs a car or a house, he or she can use the pension money to buy themselves one.
ReplyDeleteAdus, I totally agree with your sentiments. I'm a firm believer of bestowing honour and recognition where they are due - every hard working person deserves some recognition and reward and certainly our presidents deserve same. My worry is not about the package - I'm sure most people feel the same; it's more of the content. Obviously 6 cars for one family is way too much. Presidents especially in Africa should be mindful of the economic situation the majority of their people live in and support a decent and modest package. Afterall, they have a fat pension to fall back on. I've been waiting for ex-president Kuffour to issue a statement on this but he hasn't; hope he does one day. This' probably the time to enforce a strict assets declaration by our politicians. God bless our homeland.
ReplyDeletehelll nooo they r the ones spendinf the country money on their personal stuff http://myghana.weebly.com
ReplyDeleteno we should not give them anything when they retire come on guys http://ghanaweebs.blogspot.com/
ReplyDelete