The West African Centre for Public Policy (WACEPP) urged President Akufo-Addo to order the publication of salaries, conditions of service and allowances of Chief Executives, their deputies and Board Members of State institutions if he is committed to the fight against corruption.
At a public lecture under the theme “Ghana Beyond Aid; Protecting the Public Purse” held in Accra which was delivered by Rwanda-based Ghanaian Public Policy Consultant with WACEPP Mr Ishmael Botchwey, he said President Akufo-Addo will be highly commended in the fight against corruption in Africa should he heed to calls to make public the salaries, conditions of service and allowances of the CEOs and Board members of SOEs in Ghana.
“There is the need to take a critical look at the wastage in the public service. It has become a norm that CEOs and Board members are mostly chauffeured in Land Cruiser vehicles with security escorts, fuelled and maintained at the expense of the poor taxpayer. At the end of the month, some of these CEOs receive outrageous salaries, allowances and other perks running into thousands of cedis. The most intriguing is sometimes the institutions they supervise are highly indebted yet they have no mercy on the negative finances of these companies.”
“It is unacceptable that the amounts these CEOs and their Boards receive are shrouded in secrecy when the president, the one who appoints them has his salary published and known as a matter of record. We are calling on the president to take steps to ensure that the ‘secrecy’ surrounding how much State CEOs take become a thing of the past”, he added amidst applause from the participants of the lecture.
This call comes on the back of revelations that some CEOs take home as much as Ghs 75,000, 3 times the salary of the president. This does not include allowances and other perks. This aside, other facilities such as free accommodation, two vehicles; one sports utility vehicle (SUV) and one salon car, free electricity, water and telephone, a garden boy, security, driver, house help, as well as fuel are drawn from government sources.
It would be recalled that Hackman Owusu Agyemang, Chairman of the Board of Ghana Cocoa Board revealed in January 2017 that the gross monthly salary of the immediate past CEO of COCOBOD, Stephen Kwabena Opuni, was GHC75,102.
It was also disclosed that each of the three deputy directors of COCOBOD takes home GHC42,000.
The three deputy directors also enjoy other allowances and side issues, including vehicles, free accommodation, electricity, water and telephone, a garden boy, gate man, driver, house help as well as fuel from government sources.
The salary of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana is Ghs 89,909, more than three times that of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The CEO of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), also takes Ghs 88,102.
The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) bags home Ghs 76,606.
The Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) receives Ghs 68,707 as his monthly salary, while the CEO of the National Investment Bank (NIB) enjoys Ghs 65,000 monthly.
The Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) smiles home every month with a total of Ghs 62,000, his counterpart at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is paid Ghs 56,000.
At the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), the Managing Director receives Ghs 55,000 as monthly salary while The Chief Executive of the highly indebted Volta River Authority (VRA) takes home Ghs 78,400.
A country such as Ghana must not be dependent on grants and loans for basic infrastructural projects. WACEPP is calling for a benchmark or seal on the salaries of parastatals. We must endeavour to reduce the wastage in our public space.
Source: WACEPP