A complaint has been filed with the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) against the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, over what the complainant describes as selective and biased payment of ex gratia and end-of-service benefits to the Speaker and Members of Parliament, to the exclusion of officials who served in the executive arm of government.
The complainant, Wilberforce Asare, a Ghanaian citizen and broadcast journalist, contends that the finance minister—himself a sitting Member of Parliament—acted in a conflict of interest by approving payments that benefited Parliament, including himself, while leaving equally entitled beneficiaries in the executive branch unpaid.
In a petition dated December 19 and addressed to the CHRAJ Commissioner, Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, Mr Asare outlined the basis of the complaint, which was received by the Commission on the same day. The petition sets out issues of jurisdiction, alleged conflict of interest, discrimination, unfair and unreasonable administrative conduct, abuse of discretion, and the remedies being sought.
On jurisdiction, the complainant argues that the matter falls squarely within the Commission’s mandate under Article 287(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which provides that allegations of contravention of provisions relating to the conduct of public officers must be investigated by CHRAJ unless admitted in writing by the officer concerned.
The complaint further relies on Article 218(a) and (e) of the Constitution, which empowers CHRAJ to investigate allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and unfair treatment by public officers in the performance of their duties.
Detailing the facts of the case, Mr Asare said his complaint arose from an investigation he began in October 2025 into the payment of end-of-service benefits and emoluments due to members of the former government under Article 71 of the Constitution and related enactments. As part of that inquiry, he engaged the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the President, and Parliament.
According to the petition, Parliament’s response revealed what the complainant described as troubling evidence of discrimination and abuse of discretionary authority. In a letter dated December 11, the Clerk of Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, disclosed that the Speaker and Members of Parliament received the first tranche of their approved emoluments in May 2025, with a second installment paid in July 2025, covering the period from January 2021 to January 2025.
The complainant argues that this confirmation establishes that Article 71 emoluments were approved, funds released, and payments fully effected for Parliament in two installments.
On the question of conflict of interest, the petition cites Article 284 of the Constitution, which prohibits public officers from placing themselves in situations where their personal interests conflict with their official duties. Mr Asare notes that Dr Ato Forson, as a sitting MP for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, was a direct beneficiary of the payments authorised in May and July 2025.
He argues that by exercising control over the prioritisation and release of public funds and facilitating payments to Members of Parliament—while other constitutional officeholders remained unpaid—the finance minister allowed his personal financial interest to conflict with his public responsibilities.
The complaint further states that the situation is worsened by the fact that former members of the executive, the Council of State, and the Judiciary—whose emoluments were determined by the same parliamentary process—have not received payment as of the date of the petition.
According to the complainant, the finance minister’s actions amount to preferential treatment of his own occupational group over other arms of government, in violation of Article 284 of the Constitution.
