A former Upper East Regional President of Ghana Association of Elected Assembly Members (GAEM), David Adobila, has made a case for the payment of assembly members’ ex-gratia from the consolidated fund.
Mr. Adobila, who doubles as Assembly Member for the Gingande electoral area in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region, speaking on A1 Radio, insisted that they must be compensated duly for the service they provide to the various communities.
While admitting that serving in the role of assembly member is a voluntary one, Mr. Adobila was quick to add that ex-gratia at the end of service would acknowledge the significant contributions of members to the development of electoral areas.
He explained that the insistence to tie the ex-gratia to the consolidated fund is to remove the burden from the various assemblies, who struggle to pay.
“Even with the fact that we work voluntarily, we work without expecting anything from anybody. At the end of the day, when we finish serving our tenure of office, even ex-gratia, which is peanuts, is not being paid, and the simple reason given to us is that they don’t have money. The assemblies don’t have money to pay ex-gratia.”
Mr. Adobila proposed that the payment of ex-gratia to assembly members should be tied to the consolidated fund to ensure timely and consistent disbursement. He argued that the funds allocated for ex-gratia payments to a Member of Parliament and a Chief Executive could be redistributed to benefit approximately a hundred assembly members, thereby acknowledging their grassroots leadership and contributions to local governance.
“One MP or chief executive’s ex-gratia can pay about a hundred assembly members. So why don’t we at least show some kind of appreciation for the four years of work for free, by ensuring that the assembly members at the end of the day get their ex-gratia? So that is why we are proposing that the government should tie the payment of ex-gratia of assembly members to the consolidated fund,” he stated.
Furthermore, Mr. Adobila expressed frustration over what he perceived as a lack of seriousness towards assembly members and the grassroots leadership they represent. He lamented that despite their pivotal roles in local governance, assembly members are often overlooked and their contributions undervalued.
“Members of the assemblies are not taken seriously. People don’t consider the importance of grassroots leadership.”
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Gifty Eyram Kudiabor|Bolgatanga|Ghana
