The Deputy Attorney General and Minister Designate for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, has indicated that the scrapping of ex-gratia, as promised by President John Dramani Mahama, could be achieved through various approaches, with some taking less time than others.
In June 2024, then-flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, reaffirmed his commitment to abolishing ex-gratia payments to public officials if elected. He also pledged to address disparities in the remuneration of Article 71 officeholders compared to the broader public service.
“Abolish the payment of ex-gratia and cut out waste and ostentation in government. Address the disparities in the remuneration of Article 71 officeholders and the broader public service,” Mahama declared while launching the NDC’s manifesto in Winneba, Central Region, on August 24, 2024.
During his vetting before the Appointments Committee on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Justice Srem-Sai explained that while amending Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution is one way to eliminate ex-gratia, it is a lengthy and complex process.
However, an alternative approach involving regular legislation could provide a faster solution.
“There are a couple of ways by which the ex-gratia matter can be dealt with. One could be through a constitutional amendment. If you read Article 71 critically, the Constitution itself doesn’t prescribe a formula for determining the remuneration and entitlements of the specified class of persons. It only states that a committee will determine that.
“Last year, the committee sought to expand the list of beneficiaries, but the Supreme Court halted it. What I see is that it is the committee’s recommendation that is the problem. That can be resolved by passing an act of parliament to prescribe the formula,” he stated.
He further suggested that instead of abolishing ex-gratia through a constitutional amendment, which could be time-consuming, parliament could pass a law regulating the committee’s recommendations.
“If you want to go by the constitution, it will take a longer time. But you could solve that problem with regular legislation. It could determine what the committee recommends. If the committee decides there will be no payment or recommends any payment, parliament may approve it, and the president may also approve that of parliament. So, depending on the approach used, the process could be either long or short,” he added.