Kufour Must Reject Ex-gratia - Rev.

The General Overseer of the Living Grace Ministries, Rev. Dr Richard Owusu Akyeaw, has described the recently announced end of service pakage for ex-presidents as a big shame on leadership of the country and therefore called on ex-president J.A. Kufour to publicly reject the offer to protect his hard won reputation.

He said looking at the economic situation of the country coupled with the fact that leaders are to serve and not to be served, it is not proper for any retiring leader to drain the nation's economy in the name of ex-gratia. Dr. Owusu Akyeaw said this in an interaction with a section of the Brong-Ahafo media in Sunyani on the controversy that has greeted the juicy end of service benefits prepared the Chinery Hesse committee for the country's ex presidents . He noted that "leadership must be sacrificial and added that if we consider the nation's per capital income and the end of service package, we are creating a society where the rich shall continue to be rich and the poor continue to be poor", a situation he said does not advance democracy because every body would then aspire for leadeship positions just to acquire wealth at the expense of the poor.

The General Overseer who is also the Executive Dirtector of the Christian Leadership Institute in Sunyani pointed out that the country's leadeship should be finding ways of addressing problems of lack of classroom blocks in our rural areas, poor roadnetworks and low standards of living and not be thinking of enriching theselves.

He added that the current end of service benefits for ex presidents is an abuse of state resources, neglect of the poor and the highest form of social injustice to citizens.

"The ex gratia for our ex presidents is the highest form of social injustice, abuse of state resources and an insult to the ordinary Ghanaian", he said. Rev. Dr Owusu Akyeaw said public officials must not be allowed to gain so much wealth just for the sake of being in leadeship positions. "Public officials should not hide behind leadesrship positions and drain state coffers", he said. He further said though leaders face several challenges, that should not be the reason for them to exploit the ordinary people in the name of end of service benefits.