By Isaac Newton Tetteh
Kpone, June 18, GNA- Some assembly members of the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly (KKMA) have expressed dissatisfaction over what they described as an insensitive End of Service Benefit paid to assembly members after four years of service.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kpone, Mr Richard Tsatsu, assembly member for the Bethlehem electoral area, said the payment of GHS 2,250 to assembly members who served in the third assembly for four years as an end-of-service benefit was insensitive.
Mr Tsatsu, who also served under the third assembly, described it as sad for the leadership of the KKMA to disregard the sacrifices made by the members over the past four years.
He said they needed to be well recognised and appreciated for their selfless dedication and commitment towards the success of the municipal assembly as far as Internally Generated Funds (IGF) were concerned.
According to him, the KKMA, in approving the 2024 budget last year, agreed and approved a certain threshold to be paid as an end-of-service benefit to assembly members of the third Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly, but “that did not happen.”
Mr Tsatsu explained that the regulations of the Local Government Act 936 Act (2016) spelt out the model standing orders for the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), saying emoluments, including end-of-service benefits for presiding members and assembly members, must be determined by the assembly and paid out from its IGF.
Mr Peter Yao Glavi, the assembly member for the Kakasunanka electoral area, stressed that the workload of assembly members was enormous, stating that coordinating activities to ensure residents go about their normal duties, is something authorities should not overlook.
He said assembly members most of the time use their savings to solve community problems and pay for other expenses for residents, adding that the KKMA must at least be sensitive to their concerns and welfare.
‘We pay our utility bills, school fees, and other expenses, so why disrespect us that way?’ he asked.
According to him, the KKMA paid their predecessor assembly members who served in the second assembly GHS 4,000.00 in 2019 as an end-of-service benefit and therefore argued that paying them GHS 2,250.00 in 2024 was unfair, unjust, and blatant disrespect towards them.
The concerned assembly members called on the leadership of the KKMA to reconsider their decision and pay what was agreed in the 2024 composite budget as an end-of-service benefit for Assembly Members of the third assembly.
GNA