Assembly members cry over unfair treatment, call for a better standard of living

The Members of the Ghana Association of Assembly Members (GAAM), Ashanti Chapter, have made a humble appeal to the ruling government to reconsider and revisit the 1992 constitution of Ghana on how assembly members should be fairly treated.

Speaking at a press briefing, Honourable Akwasi Bour Manu, President of the association said the hardship assembly members witness under successive governments is very worrying.

He mentioned the workloads injected on them coupled with funeral attendance, weddings, carrying of dead cops, settling of chaotic disputes, explaining government policies etc without getting any welfare attention from the various governments has given them severe headaches and sometimes regrets.

The Assembly members who are expressing worry over the governments' failure to provide satisfactory incentives packages to support their welfare called for immediate attention.

According to the worried members, the only GH¢1,500 received as their end of service benefit is nothing to write home about, and it's high time they came out to pronounce their dissatisfaction.

“This is a slap in the face!!… It is shocking to know that as the mouthpiece of the people, what Assembly members get as a reward are peanuts.

"The plight of Assembly members under successive governments has not been anything but humiliating and subjective, to say the least. Assembly members perform similar functions as the Members of Parliament albeit lawmaking at the local level, but what do we see? At the end of his tenure as an elected assembly member, his end of service benefit is sadly tied to the meagre internally generated fund," they lamented.

Members of the Ghana Association of Assembly Members (GAAM), Ashanti Chapter

The assembly members who are much worried about how their meagre emoluments are tied to the limited internally generated fund are therefore demanding change for better condition of service for Assembly Members.

They suggest that emoluments of presiding and assembly members should be charged on the consolidated fund to pave way for adequate remuneration.

"To achieve this, parliament should revisit the article 250 clause 1&2 of the1992 constitution and section 11(2) of the local governance act 2016, act 936 - which states the emolument process of the District/Municipal Chief Executive, Presiding Members and Assembly members as well.

"The association entreats parliament to amend the law and in case of entrenchment, an immediate referendum should be carried out to ensure the welfare of honourable assembly members is assured". They read in the statement.

Again, GAAM proposed for the establishment of the electoral area Common Fund for Assembly Members charged on the district assembly common fund. They called for laws to be enacted to enable assembly members carry out developmental projects under strict auditing and supervision by technocrats.

The members also call for allowances as a monthly stimulus which should be charged on the district assembly common fund.

Briefing further to Soireenews, the executive of the association shockingly revealed that most assemblies as at now are indebted to former assembly members for their end of service benefit due to the meagre internally generated fund, and this, coupled with many other reasons, is their cry for government to consider the emoluments of assembly members be charged on the consolidated fund in order to address the inequalities in the payment of ex-gratia.

Nana Peprah, Ashanti Region