Double salaries saga: 3 ex-ministers face police over 'stealing' charges

Graphic.com.gh Politics Apr - 17 - 2018 , 15:51 2 minutes read

Three ex-ministers of the erstwhile Mahama administration Tuesday appeared before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service on allegations of stealing.

The accusation is in connection with allegations the three, along with 22 others, were paid double salaries while in government.

The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, who is among the three accused to appear before the police Tuesday, confirmed the charge of stealing but says he denies same.

The other two ex-officials to go to the police on Tuesday are the Member of Parliament for Ada, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, who served as a Minister of State in-Charge of Social and Allied Institutions, and Eric Opoku, former Brong Ahafo Regional Minister.

They have both denied culpability.

Alhaji Fuseini who spoke on Asempa FM, said he denied the accusation because he had “not stolen anyone’s money.”

According to him, he considered the salaries he received from parliament and the executive on account toward the final determination of his emolument.

According to him, he was not informed of the amount of money he was supposed to receive as top up of his salary following his appointment as a minister and that even though he saw the discrepancies in payment, it was not resolved.

“My reading of the constitution gave me an indication that all that payment was toward the determination of my salary. That’s how I read the constitution,” he explained.

“I took it that the top up was legitimate money that was coming from the Flagstaff House to compliment what I was receiving from Parliament by reason of the fact that I was a Member of Parliament,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mrs Cudjoe-Ghansah also said she cannot be faulted for receiving her salary during her tenure as a Minister of State in-Charge of Social and Allied Institutions.

In her opinion, the Controller and Accountants General’s Department should be faulted for any irregularities in the monies paid them as salaries.