Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has underscored that ex gratia payments are not confined solely to Members of Parliament (MPs).
He clarified that these payments, often misunderstood, extend to a broader spectrum of public servants and political officeholders, including ministers of state, judiciary members, and heads of constitutional commissions.
“The issue of ex-gratia is a very thorny issue, the founders envisaged a situation where they wanted some particular category of public servants, including political officeholders, to be assured that after their office, we will take care of them. So it was to assist us to contain corruption,” he added.
Bagbin explained that ex gratia payments, which he prefers to term as gratuity, were initially introduced to combat corruption by ensuring that public servants and political officeholders have their post-service needs met.
This was intended to encourage them to prioritize public interests over personal gain.
“Unfortunately, in practice, it has not served its purpose,” he admitted.
“It has not been able to assist us to curb or contain corruption. I agree totally with anybody who comes to say that we should do away with Article 71 of the Constitution. It hasn’t served its purpose; there’s no use maintaining it,”he said.