Twifo Praso: Ex-assembly members lock up coordinating director and finance officer over ex-gratia

Drama unfolded at the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District Assembly in the Central Region when 41 ex-assembly members locked up the District Coordinating Director's office demanding the payment of their ex-gratia.

They also locked up the office of the Finance Officer, demanding that if their ex-gratia were not paid to them, they will not open the ofice.

The two officials, Awal Suahini and Peter Apan were locked up for about two hours in their offices.

It happened on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 after the assembly members claimed they had been promised payments of their monies  but they suspected the coordinating director and the finance officer had changed the plan without informing them.

It took the intervention of the District Police Commander, Superintendent Charles Addae Boateng to get the officers released from the locked office and a compromise reached.

Each assembly member eventually received a part payment of GH¢2,000 out of the GH¢4,000 total amount.

The aggrieved assembly members who served from 2019 to 2023 were demanding their ex-gratia payments, which had been delayed since 2023.

By the Local Government Act (Act 936), section 11 (2); the assembly is required to determine ex-gratia payments based on its revenue capacity after the end of each tenure.

The assembly had agreed to pay each assembly member GH¢4,000 cedis from its internally generated funds.

According to one Appiah, the spokesperson for the ex-assembly members, the district coordinating director and the district finance officer had invited them to collect their payments on Tuesday.

 However, when they arrived, they were told them that only GH¢2,000 out of the total GH¢4,000 would be paid, with the balance to be paid the following month. 

He said they agreed to this proposal but were left waiting for about three hours without receiving their payments.

When they confronted the officers involved they were informed that the payment would be ready on Thursday. 

This response angered the ex-assembly members, leading them to lock up the two officers in their offices. 

The police eventually intervened, rescuing the officers, and the ex-assembly members finally received their GH¢2,000 payments around 5:30 pm on Tuesday.

The ex-assembly members said they resorted to locking up the officials because they suspected an attempt to short change them.

The district assembly officials declined to comment on the issue when contacted.

Last week, the former assembly members took to the streets, demonstrating in demand for their ex-gratia.

Twifo Praso: Ex-assembly members lock up coordinating director and finance officer's over ex-gratia https://t.co/6ix8YSBqL9 pic.twitter.com/cnk4knffon

— DailyGraphic GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) January 1, 2025