Ghana: the decision to pay the country's first and second lady is controversial
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Vice President have decided to grant 40,000 euros over four years to their respective wives (illustrative image).
AFP - CRISTINA ALDEHUELA
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Should a president's wife receive a salary?
This is the question that agitates Ghana at the moment.
Parliament recently passed an amendment allowing the wives of President Akufo-Addo and his vice-president to receive emoluments.
But while the country is in the midst of an economic crisis, and demonstrations erupted last week, this measure is going badly with the population.
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Normally, this is a measure that might have gone unnoticed.
The president and his vice-president, decided to grant emoluments to their respective wives nearly 40,000 euros over four years, in their capacity as first and second lady of the country.
But now, in recent times, faced with the increase in public debt and the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis, the Ghanaian government has imposed new taxes which, together with the rise in fuel prices, have provoked anger Population. Several demonstrations then erupted at the beginning of the week, during which one could hear slogans like "
Ghanaians are dying,
Akufo-Addo
wake up!"
".
The controversy over these emoluments of presidents' wives therefore comes at the wrong time for the government.
In addition, in the local press, members of the opposition follow one another to denounce the illegality of this measure.
According to them, only a person exercising an official public function can claim to be paid by the state.
They are threatening to take the government to court.
► See also: Nana Akufo-Addo asks Africans to wake up against Covid-19!
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Ghana
Nana Akufo-Addo