General News of Wednesday, 23 June 2004

Source: NETWORK HERALD

Speaker Raps President

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjatey, has added his voice to calls on the Executive to as a matter of urgency, initiate processes to determine the conditions of service of top public servants in the country. He described as ?long over due? the setting up of a committee to determine the conditions of service of his good self, that of MPs and Judges of the Supreme Court among others.

Short of describing it as a Presidential oversight, the Hon. Speaker pointed out that the setting up of such a body is the sole responsibility of the President who ?must exercise that responsibility? in accordance with the laws of the land.

Hon. Peter Ala Adjatey who spoke to the paper in London recently further indicated that the failure on the part of the Executive to determine the salaries and other conditions of service of persons within that category over the past three years places a responsibility on the state to pay what he said should amount to ?adequate compensation to all those persons.?

He lamented that for the entire duration that he has occupied the very powerful position of Speaker of Parliament, his term of employment has not been fully set out, so he has no idea what he is entitled to and what he is not.

?If things are happening in such a way that there is the need to review the situation, you could always appoint or re-appoint such a committee.? ?I think it is long over due,? he submitted.