Former Member of Parliament for Effia, Joseph Cudjoe, has questioned whether President John Dramani Mahama has abandoned the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) campaign promise to abolish ex-gratia payments for Article 71 office holders.

According to a myjoyonline.com report on July 31, 2026, Cudjoe argued that the government's White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee's recommendations suggests the pledge is no longer being pursued.

The former Minister for Public Enterprises noted that the NDC made the abolition of ex-gratia one of its flagship campaign promises ahead of the 2024 general election. However, he said the White Paper does not recommend scrapping the benefit.

Instead, he observed that the document proposes the establishment of an Independent Public Emoluments Commission to determine the salaries, allowances and benefits of Article 71 office holders.

Cudjoe further pointed out that the White Paper specifically references the President's retirement gratuity and recommends that it be exempt from tax, which, in his view, indicates that ex-gratia payments are expected to continue rather than be abolished.

According to him, although the Constitutional Review Committee did not recommend eliminating ex-gratia, the NDC went beyond the committee's proposals by promising Ghanaians that it would abolish the payments if elected.

"The unavoidable conclusion is that President Mahama has, at least so far, scrapped his promise to scrap ex-gratia," Cudjoe said.

He added that if the government still intends to fulfil the pledge, it should amend the White Paper to explicitly provide for the abolition of ex-gratia and introduce the necessary constitutional amendments.

The former minister argued that, until those steps are taken, Ghanaians have reason to believe the campaign promise has been abandoned.

"On ex-gratia, the White Paper speaks louder than the campaign platform. And what it says is unmistakable: the promise to scrap ex-gratia has itself been scrapped," he stated.