Huge ex-gratia for former presidents a burden – Nunoo Mensah

A former national security advisor to the late President Mills, Brigadier General (rtd) Joseph Nunoo Mensah has called on former Heads of State to consider the burden of their severance packages on the national purse and decide whether or not to accept them.

His comments come after reports emerged on Tuesday that former Presidents John Rawlings and John Kufuor were given lands by the Mahama-led administrations as part of their retirement packages.

According to a document sighted by StarrFMonline.com, the lands along the Sekou Toure Street, Ridge in Accra were leased to the founder of the NDC in 2016 at a yearly irrevocable rent of GHS10 for 99 years, renewable for 50 years after expiration, for purposes of establishing the Rawlings Foundation.

The office of Former President Rawlings has since rubbished reports that the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration leased over four acres of unnumbered plots of land to him.

A statement said although the former military ruler made a request for the establishment of the Rawlings Foundation, there was no action on the approval given by the previous government until it lost the December 7 elections.

However, speaking on Morning Starr Wednesday, the former Chief of Defense Staff, told host Nii Arday Clegg that the economic conditions of Ghanaians make it dishonourable for respected holders of the highest office of the land to accept such offers.

“We should be morally guided…it is in the Bible to be given and not to take, it is more honourable to be given and not to be taken. We are always grabbing, look at the lands at cantonments we have sold all of them to ourselves.

“We don’t think about Ghana, we only think about how much we can grab from Ghana and that is wrong.”