A group of 134 former Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) has petitioned the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, over unpaid terminal benefits they say have been outstanding since they left office in 2021.
The former MMDCEs served during the first term of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and remained in office during the transition period as the government prepared to appoint new chief executives for the second term.
The petition, led by former Akatsi South Municipal Chief Executive Leo-Nelson Adzidogah, argues that the affected officials are entitled to benefits for the period they served between January and October 2021.
According to the group, they were directed to remain in office after January 2021 until their successors were nominated and appointed.
However, when new MMDCE nominations were announced in October 2021, 134 of the existing chief executives were not renominated and subsequently left office.
The former officials say they have since been waiting for their terminal benefits for the period in question.
Mr Adzidogah said the group initially expected their outstanding payments to be settled alongside the benefits of officials who were renominated and went on to complete the second term of the Akufo-Addo administration.
They were therefore concerned when their successors and other MMDCEs received their terminal benefits while their own claims remained unresolved.
The former MMDCEs further argue that colleagues who were renominated in 2021 were paid for the January-to-October period, even though both groups served concurrently during that period.
“It is therefore unfair to leave us out while our colleagues who worked with us during the said period were paid,” the petition stated.
The group maintains that leaving office before the end of the second term should not affect benefits accrued from services already rendered.
They are therefore asking the Finance Minister to review their case and authorise the payment of the outstanding benefits.
The issue dates back several years. Mr Adzidogah raised concerns about the unpaid end-of-service benefits in 2024, calling for intervention on behalf of affected former MMDCEs. Reports at the time indicated that each official believed more than GH¢100,000 was owed under the terms of their appointments.
Further petitions were submitted to the Mahama administration in late 2025 and again in February 2026 as the former officials continued to push for a resolution.
In their latest petition, the former MMDCEs have formally placed the matter before the Finance Ministry, describing the unpaid benefits as an outstanding obligation arising from their service to the state.
“We humbly believe that our exit from office during and before the end of the second term should not be used to deny us of our benefits,” the group said.
Copies of the petition were also sent to senior officials at the Ministry of Finance.
The former MMDCEs say their main concern is equal treatment, particularly because they performed the same duties as colleagues who were later renominated during the January-to-October 2021 transition period.
The petition does not state the total amount required to settle the claims, and no response from the Ministry of Finance was included in the material available.
The renewed petition has brought the long-running dispute over the former MMDCEs’ terminal benefits back before the government, nearly five years after the affected officials left office.
