Ghana’s First Lady may of late not have made the limelight for the right reasons but she has reached a decision that would take her most captious critics by surprise.
Rebecca Akufo-Addo aside from turning down a parliamentary decision to render her position a salaried one, announced she would refund all allowances received by her.
This would go as far back as 2017 when her husband, sitting president Nana Akufo-Addo assumed office.
In the past Ghanaian First Ladies had received regular allowances.
Rebecca’s unprecedented decision was triggered by a barrage of criticism from members of the Ghanaian public over how much public officials are being paid in salaries, allowances and per diem when the rest of the citizenry continue to wallow in abject poverty.
She has surprised her critics by vowing to return “every cedi” spent in her name.
These allowances since 2017 amount to 899,097.84 Ghanaian cedis, roughly $151,618.
In a statement, she said far from how her detractors portray her as self-serving and vain, she had not for once requested to be paid all the money spent on her in her capacity as Ghana’s First Lady.
Instead the funds were given in her name “informally”.
She said she finds it grossly unfair that Ghanaians had singled her out for bashing after MPs last week approved a 2019 recommendation by parliamentary committee for salaries and emoluments to be paid to the spouses of the country’s president and vice-president.
The committee had referred to the supportive role they play as reason for this.
WN/as/APA