Claims that justices of the superior courts being paid ex gratia have been deemed “false” and “malicious” by the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG). Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, reportedly refused a GHS365,392.67 ex gratia payment from the government for serving on the Council of State from 2017 to 2020.
In a statement, the business mogul said he did not believe it was appropriate to collect payment ex gratia for a part-time service he performed for the state for which he was paid on a monthly basis.
In a statement, he added, “I wish to add that my refusal of the payment was consistent with my general abhorrence of the payment of enormous ex gratia and other excessive rewards to persons who have, by their own will, decided to assist our poor country.
His act sparked intense political discussion on ex gratia, with some detractors pointing out that the judiciary benefited from the article 71 officeholders’ four-year stipend. No judge receives ex gratia every four years, according to Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, the president of AMJG and a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
The Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) has followed the discussions regarding the payment of ex gratia to some officeholders under Article 71 and has noted with dismay the false and malicious allegation that judges of the Superior Courts (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and High Court Judges) are paid ex gratia at the conclusion of every four (4) years.
The AMJG wants to make it absolutely clear that the accusation is untrue and without basis, he said. The judges clarified the facts as follows:
a. That, once every four (4) years, on the recommendation of a Committee appointed by the President in accordance with Article 71(1) of the Constitution of 1992, His Excellency the President determines the salaries of Superior Court Judges, i.e. (Supreme Court Judges, Court of Appeal Judges, and High Court Judges).
b. If salary increases are implemented as a result of the Committee’s recommendations, judges should be compensated for salary arrears—commonly referred to as back pay—resulting from the salary increase’s retroactive application.
c. The back pay or salary arrears are consequently paid in a single payment or in installments. Since 1996, this has been the circumstance.
d) It is this arrears of salary or back pay that some seasoned journalists and so-called social commentators, who never sought to look for the truth, mischievously refer to as ex gratia in the press, particularly on radio, television, and on social media platforms.
“No Superior Court Judge is or has ever been paid ex-gratia every four years, as is incorrectly stated in the media,” it asserted clearly.
Link: https://hotstoriesghana.com/truth-finally-outwe-have-never-received-ex-gratia-in-every-4-years-judges-stressed-check-details/
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