General News of Thursday, 14 December 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-12-14
Informtion Minister, Mustapha Hamid
Information minister, Mustapha Hamid says aides of former President John Mahama would be paid if the Chief of Staff receives a letter detailing the staff and their portfolios.
It has emerged that after ten months of leaving office, none of Mr. Mahama’s office aides has received any salary from the state.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Thursday, Mr. Hamid said the situation obtains because the office of the Chief of Staff has not received any letter or a list of people that the former president is working with.
“The office of former president Mahama should write to the Chief of Staff to pay for those he is working with and that will be done”, he said.
He added that the former president had written to the current government to demand payment for his travels in March and October and those documents are being processed and the monies will soon be paid.
Mustapha Hamid was reacting to suggestions by Joyce Bawa Mogtari, spokesperson for Mr Mahama that the former president is being treated shabbily.
He said the matter of Mr. Mahama’s residence would be dealt with.
“Even Ex-President Kufuor has not been given his accommodation yet since 2009 when he left office”, he said.
“That, therefore, puts the pressure of settling two former presidents on us, and they had only one president to provide for and couldn’t complete it. So they should be patient with us, we are pleading with them”, he added.
The minister also stated that the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare has designated an officer at her office specially to deal with John Mahama’s claims so they should liaise with her and everything will be sorted out.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, special aide to the former President who also spoke to the show admitted that the office of Mr. Mahama is yet to write to the Chief of Staff detailing his staff.
She added that the current government should show more concern by calling on Mr Mahama to interact with him and check how he is doing; “that is what has been practised in time past”.
Mrs Mogtari added that their concern at the moment is the recent claims by the Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul that former president Mahama was occupying a military property.
“These are false claims and most unfortunate”, she said.
