Josiah
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared Parliament’s decision to authorize payment to the wives of the President and Vice President as unconstitutional.
In a ruling delivered by Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo and supported by seven members of the court, it was determined that the First Lady and the Vice President’s spouse do not qualify as public officeholders. Consequently, the court found Parliament’s approval of their payment to be in conflict with the provisions of the 1992 constitution.
This verdict follows a lawsuit filed by Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye, the Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), against the Attorney General in July 2021.
Abronye’s lawsuit sought various declarations, including that the positions held by the First Lady and Second Lady do not fall under the category of public officeholders as defined in Article 71(1) and (2) of the constitution.
Furthermore, the lawsuit argued that Parliament lacked the authority to initiate or approve the payment of emoluments to the First and Second Ladies without a bill to that effect originating from the government and being passed into law.
The Supreme Court granted three out of four reliefs requested by Abronye, with the fourth being denied. The court affirmed that Parliament cannot unilaterally authorize the payment of such emoluments from public funds without proper legislative procedure as prescribed by the constitution.
