Former Legal Counsel to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Kow Essuman, has renewed concerns over the continued delay in paying outstanding salaries, arrears and end-of-service benefits owed to former presidential staffers.
Essuman, who served in the Akufo-Addo administration, has questioned why former presidential staffers are still waiting for their entitlements while other categories of former public officials have received payments.
According to him, the affected former staffers have been waiting for an extended period despite several engagements with government institutions responsible for processing the payments.
The former presidential legal counsel previously raised concerns that salary adjustments and other benefits approved before the change of government had not been paid to officials who served under the previous administration.
He argued that the situation amounted to unfair treatment, particularly if current officeholders were benefiting from the same approved salary structure while former officials remained unpaid.
Essuman has also questioned the government’s approach to settling outstanding obligations owed to former public officials.
In July 2026, he disclosed that former presidential staffers had remained unpaid for nearly 20 months after the change in administration. He contrasted their situation with payments made to Members of Parliament, including arrears, emoluments and ex-gratia.
He argued that there was no justification for paying one category of former officeholders while leaving another group whose benefits were also due waiting indefinitely.
Essuman said several engagements had taken place between representatives of the affected former staffers and institutions including the Ministry of Finance, the Presidency, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the Audit Service.
However, he indicated that those engagements had not produced a satisfactory explanation for the continued delay.
One of the issues raised by the former presidential staffer is the government’s audit and verification process. While acknowledging that the authorities may need to verify beneficiaries before making payments, he questioned why the process should take such a long period when records of former presidential staffers are already available within the government payroll system.
He has therefore called for the outstanding obligations to be addressed and for former officials to receive equal treatment regardless of the administration under which they served.
Essuman’s concerns form part of a broader debate over the payment of entitlements to former public officials and the implementation of recommendations concerning Article 71 officeholders.
The former presidential legal counsel has maintained that the payment of approved benefits should be guided by fairness, consistency and the applicable legal framework.
The issue has continued to attract attention as former government officials await clarity on when outstanding payments will be settled.
For Essuman and other affected former staffers, the key concern remains the prolonged delay and what they describe as unequal treatment in the payment of benefits.
The government has previously indicated that verification and auditing processes are necessary before certain outstanding payments can be made. However, Essuman maintains that the process should not continue indefinitely, especially where official records already exist.
As discussions over outstanding public-sector entitlements continue, affected former presidential staffers are expected to maintain pressure on the relevant authorities for the release of their unpaid benefits.
Source: Thepressradio.com
