Some NDC ministers took double ex gratia payments - Gary Nimako

A member of the communication team of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Gary Marfo Nimako has said it was not true the Police CID has   apologised to some former government appointees for erroneously inviting them for questioning as to why they received double pay.

Rather, he said the investigations were still ongoing and that the police only called the said former appointees to reschedule their various appointments and not to inform them of no longer pursuing the matter as had been alleged by some of them.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme on Saturday, Mr Marfo Nimako said investigators at the CID simply called the named former officials to reschedule their appearance before the CID.

Some government appointees have been frothing with rage over allegations that they received double pay as MPs and also as Ministers.

They have accused the government of intimidation and vowed to resist attempts to use the security agencies to witch-hunt them.

Double ex-gratia 

Mr Marfo Nimako said he was aware some of the affected officials even took ex gratia payments as Members of Parliament and as Ministers.

He said some more investigations were underway to reconcile the figures of former ministers who took double ex gratia payments as MPs and as Ministers.

He said the double payments may have arisen from lack of synchronisation of the payment systems for MPs and ministers.

He added that the claims by some of those cited that they did not know they received double payments cannot be true.

”While the paying institutions can be blamed for failing to communicate, the beneficiaries had a responsibility to, when they noticed the double payment, inform say, the Parliamentary Service that they were already being paid as ministers”.

“How could they not know that you are receiving these payments when in fact and indeed your bank account shows credits of these payments”, he quizzed.