Togbe Afede XIV, a businessman and the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, has explained why he returned to the state coffers a sum of GH365.392.67 that was awarded to him as an ex-gratia for his membership in the Council of State.
According to the former President of the National House of Chiefs, he returned the money to the state because he was "extremely uncomfortable" with the payment and thought it was "wrong for a brief, essentially part-time job" for which he was paid monthly and had other benefits.
Togbe Afede claimed the money came to his attention while he was working on his tax returns at the end of last year, according to a statement he published Monday to clarify his refund.
He claims he obtained tax receipts from the Council of State Secretariat indicating that money was deposited into his bank account as "Ex Gratia" in July 2021.
He dutifully verified the money, but he believed he not only did not earn it, but that it was also improper according to his own standards, contrary to rumors that he returned it because he believed it was intended to set him up.
"I did not believe the money was intended to lure me in, as has been suggested." Everyone who sat on the Council of State, I suppose, received it. However. I believed the extra money was excessive for a brief, practically part-time job for which I was paid a monthly wage and entitled to benefits.
As a result, I felt really uneasy about it.
"It's been weeks since I've tried. I sought counsel on how to reimburse the State for improper payments, and on March 4, 2022, I deposited the funds in the Controller & Accountant General's Department Suspense Account at the Bank of Ghana.
"I wrote to the Secretary of the Council of State in a letter. "It was a great honor for me to serve on the Council of State for four years, from 2017 to 2020," I said. Despite the fact that I chaired one of the Council's three (3) committees, the Economy and Special Development Initiatives Committee, and participated extensively in the Council's operations, I do not believe my labor deserved the payment of GHC365.392.57 to me.
In addition to the money I received from what was practically a part-time employment, called Ex Gratia."
"I'd like to emphasize that my refusal of the payment was consistent with my usual disdain for the provision of large Ex Gratia and other extravagant rewards to persons who have offered to serve our poor country on their own will."