Afari Gyan finally paid pension benefits after 13 months without a penny

After 23 years of selfless and dedicated service to Ghana which saw him supervise six elections, former chair of the Electoral Commission Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan was left 13 months without a penny when he left office.

The Controller and Accountant General's Department ceased paying the monthly salary of the former EC chair in June 2015 and also delayed paying his gratuities due to what officials of the department say were bureaucratic processes which had to be followed.

Several calls, visits to the Comptroller by officials of the Electoral Commission and close family members to have Dr Afari-Gyan's retirement benefits paid yielded no results for 12 months.

On June 16, 2015, Dr Kwadwo Afari- Gyan bid farewell to his compatriots at the Electoral Commission where he had served for 23 years as deputy Electoral Commissioner and later as Commissioner.

Per Article 44 (2) Dr Afari Gyan was entitled to the same conditions of service as the justice of a Court of Appeal.  He was an Article 71 office holder and deserved a treatment in retirement similar to how the state will treat the president, a minister, a parliamentarian or judge in a superior court.

Sources close to Dr Afari Gyan, anonymously admitted to the media that the lack of payment was taking a heavy toll on the finances of the retired statesman.

In a joint interview with the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Seidu Kotomah and the Director of Pensions, Mrs Elizabeth Osei, with the PRO looking on, the officials conceded there were delays in paying Dr Afari Gyan's entitlements.

They also admitted that for 13 months Dr Afari Gyan received nothing because they had to conduct the necessary due diligence and partly because of delays at the Finance Ministry where approval had to come from before the money would be paid.