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OVERSEAS PUBLIC OFFICERS’
PENSIONS (GHANA/UNITED KINGDOM OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
AGREEMENT) DECREE, 1976 (SMCD 16)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Agreement to Have Force of Law
in Ghana.
2. Modification of Existing
Pension Laws.
3. Commencement.
SCHEDULE
Schedule
WHEREAS by an Agreement made the
23rd day of February, 1976 between
the Government of the Republic of
Ghana and the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (referred to
in this Decree as " the Agreement
"), the Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland has agreed to
assume from the Government of the
Republic of Ghana, responsibility
for the control, administration
and payment of pensions of certain
public officers;
AND WHEREAS it is decided to give
effect to the Agreement and for
that purpose to provide that the
terms thereof shall have the force
of law in Ghana;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE it enacted by
the Supreme Military Council as
follows:
Section 1—Agreement to Have Force
of Law in Ghana.
The terms of the Agreement set out
in the Schedule to this Decree
shall have the force of law in
Ghana.
Section 2—Modification of Existing
Pension Laws.
Any pensions laws as defined in
article 1 of the Agreement and in
force immediately before the
commencement of this Decree shall
have effect subject to such
modifications as may be necessary
to give effect to this Decree.
Section 3—Commencement.
This Decree shall come into force
on such day as the Supreme
Military Council may by
Legislative Instrument appoint.
SCHEDULE
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
IRELAND CONCERNING PUBLIC
OFFICERS' PENSIONS
The Government of the Republic of
Ghana and the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland have agreed
as follows:
ARTICLE 1
Interpretation.
(1) In this Agreement, except
where the context otherwise
requires:
(a) "actuary" means a Fellow of
the Institute of Actuaries or of
the Faculty of Actuaries in
Scotland;
(b) "the appointed day" means the
day mutually arranged between the
Government of the United Kingdom
and the Government of Ghana;
(c) "the Ghana element" in
relation to a pension (other than
a widows' and orphans' pension)
means:
(i)
in respect of a pension arising
from death resulting from an
injury on duty or a pension or
additional pension arising from
such an injury, being a pension
which results from an occurrence
during relevant service, the whole
cost;
(ii) in the case of any other
pension that proportion of the
pension which the total
pensionable emoluments enjoyed by
the officer during his relevant
service bears to the total
pensionable emoluments enjoyed by
him throughout his public service
under the Government of Ghana
which have been taken into account
in determining the amount of that
pension;
(d) “officer” means an officer as
so defined in the Public Officers
Agreement between Her Majesty's
Government in the United Kingdom
and Her Majesty's Government in
Ghana signed at London on the 1st
day of March, 1957 and at Accra on
the 6th day of March, 1957
(hereinafter referred to as “the
Public Officers Agreement”) or who
would have been an officer as so
defined if he had remained in a
pensionable office in the public
service of Ghana until immediately
before 6th March 1957, or (in the
case of officers who served in a
West African Inter-Territorial
Research Organisation) if his
office had been a pensionable
office in the public service of
Ghana immediately before that
date, and who was not a citizen of
Ghana on 1st April, 1971 or who,
having retired from the public
service or having died in public
service after that date, is not or
was not a citizen of Ghana at the
time of his retirement or death,
as the case may be;
(e) "other public service" means
public service not under the
Government of Ghana;
(f) “pension” means any pension or
gratuity, retiring allowance or
other like benefit, or any
increase of pension, or any
contributions repayable to, or
interest on contributions payable
to, any officer, payable under the
pensions laws to or in respect of
any officer, or to the widow or
child of any officer or to his
legal personal representative;
(g) “pensionable emoluments”
(i)
in respect of public service under
the Government of Ghana, means
emoluments which count for pension
under the pensions laws;
(ii) in respect of other public
service, means emoluments which
count for pension in accordance
with the laws or regulations in
force in such service;
(h) “pensions laws” means:
(i)
in relation to pensions other than
widows' and orphans' pensions, any
law, regulation or administrative
direction providing for the
payment of pensions to officers in
respect of public service and in
force in Ghana at any time prior
to 1st April, 1971 and enacted
prior to that date;
(ii) in relation to widows' and
orphans' pensions, the Widows' and
Orphans' (Overseas Officers)
Pensions Fund Ordinance, 1955,
Ordinance No. 24 of 1955 of the
Laws of Ghana and any amendments
thereto in force at any time prior
to 1st April, 1971 and enacted
prior thereto (hereinafter
referred to as Ordinance No. 24);
and
(iii) in relation both to widows'
and orphans' pensions and to other
pensions, any other law,
regulation or administrative
direction accepted by the
Government of the United Kingdom
and Government of Ghana for the
purposes of this Agreement;
“public service” means:
(i)
service in a civil capacity under
the Government of Ghana or any
other country or territory in the
Commonwealth;
(ii) service under the East Africa
High Commission, the East African
Common Services Organisation, the
East African Posts and
Telecommunications Administration,
the East African Railways and
Harbours Administration, the East
African Community, the East
African Harbours Corporation, the
East African Posts and
Telecommunications Corporation or
the East African Railways
Corporation;
(iii) service which is pensionable:
(aa)
under the Overseas Superannuation
Scheme; or
(bb) under any Acts relating to
the superannuation of teachers in
the United Kingdom; or
(cc) under a local authority in
the United Kingdom; or
(dd)
under the National Health Service
of the United Kingdom;
(iv) any other service accepted by
the Government of the United
Kingdom and the Government of
Ghana to be public service for the
purposes of this Agreement;
(v) except for the purposes of
computation of a pension, gratuity
or other allowance and of
determination of the maximum
pension grantable, service as a
Governor in respect of which a
pension may be granted under the
Overseas Pensions Act, 1973 or any
Act amending or replacing that
Act;
(vi) service as the holder of the
office of President,
Vice-President, Justice of Appeal,
Registrar, officer or servant of
the Court of Appeal for East
Africa established by the Eastern
Africa Court of Appeal Order in
Council 1961 (United Kingdom S.I.
1961 No. 2323) or the Court of
Appeal for East Africa;
(vii) service in the service of
the Interim Commissioner for the
West Indies;
(j) “relevant service” means
public service in a civil capacity
under the Government of Ghana on
or after 31st July, 1955;
(k) "the taxation element" means
the sum accepted by the two
Governments as being equivalent of
the proceeds of income tax or any
similar tax received by the
Government of Ghana on any sums
which are reimbursable in
accordance with sub-paragraph (1)
(d) of Article 3;
(l) " widows' and orphans'
pensions " means pensions payable
under Ordinance No. 24.
(2) In relation to any period
before 6th March, 1957 references
to the Government of Ghana shall
be construed as references to the
Government of the Gold Coast.
ARTICLE 2
Assumption of Responsibility by
the Government of the United
Kingdom.
As from the appointed day the
Government of the United Kingdom
shall assume from the Government
of Ghana the responsibility for
the control, administration and
payment of pensions which have
been awarded before the appointed
day and for the award, control,
administration and payment of
pensions which would fall to be
awarded on or after the appointed
day.
ARTICLE 3
Obligations of the Government of
the United Kingdom
(1) The Government of the United
Kingdom undertake:
(a) that they shall award,
control, administer and pay the
pensions and widows' and orphans'
pensions referred to in Article 2
of this Agreement to or in respect
of the persons concerned in
accordance with the principles and
rules contained in the pensions
laws, with such modifications as
may be necessary in consequence
of the transfer of responsibility
under this Agreement, or in
accordance with such other
principles and rules as the
Government of the United Kingdom
consistently with the next
following paragraph may from time
to time determine;
(b) that apart from any
modifications arising from the
pensions and widows' and orphans'
pensions being payable out of
public moneys of the United
Kingdom they shall not apply to
any officer different provisions
from those contained in the
pensions laws (other than any
provisions, express or implied,
relating to the currency and
method of payment of a pension) so
as to make such provisions less
favourable to any beneficiary or
potential beneficiary than the
provisions applicable to him on
the appointed day;
Provided that if a beneficiary or
potential beneficiary elects to
have any provision applied to him,
that provision shall be taken to
be more favourable to him;
(c) that if the Government of
Ghana should be adjudged by the
order of a competent court of law
having jurisdiction in Ghana to be
liable to pay to or in respect of
an officer or the widow or child
or personal representative of an
officer any sum in respect of a
pension or widows' and orphans'
pension for which the Government
of the United Kingdom have assumed
responsibility under this
Agreement, the Government of the
United Kingdom shall repay to the
Government of Ghana any sum paid
to such person for the purpose of
complying with the order of the
court; but in this event the
Government of the United Kingdom
shall be free to reduce by
corresponding sums, or totally to
withhold, any payments of the same
pension or widows' and orphans'
pension to or in respect of that
pension which would otherwise fall
to be made by them under this
Agreement;
(d) that they shall reimburse the
Government of Ghana, in accordance
with such procedure as may be
mutually arranged between the two
Governments, the aggregate amount,
less the taxation element, of the
following payments due on or after
1st April, 1971, being amounts due
under the pensions laws, and made
by the Government of Ghana to or
in respect of officers:
(i)
the full cost of payments
representing that proportion of a
pension or gratuity payable to or
in respect of an officer which
accrues from public service under
the Government of Ghana before
31st July, 1955;
(ii) the full cost of payments
representing a pension rising from
death resulting from an injury on
duty or a pension or additional
pension arising from such an
injury, being an injury received
before 31st July, 1955.
(2) For the purposes of
sub-paragraph (1) (d) of this
Article, the proportion of a
pension or gratuity which accrues
from public service under the
Government of Ghana before 31st
July, 1955 is that proportion
which the total pensionable
emoluments received by an officer
from such service prior to 31st
July, 1955 bears to his total
pensionable emoluments received
from all such service.
ARTICLE 4
Obligations of the Government of
Ghana.
(1) The Government of Ghana
undertake:
(a) that they shall remain
responsible for any instalments of
pensions granted to or in respect
of an officer which remain unpaid
on the appointed day;
(b) that they shall as from the
appointed day relinquish
responsibility for the award,
control, administration and
payment of any pension to or in
respect of an officer otherwise
than in accordance with the terms
of this Agreement;
(c) that they shall pay to the
Government of the United Kingdom
in accordance with such
arrangements as may be accepted by
the two Governments;
(i)
in respect of any pension (other
than a widows' and orphans'
pension) awarded before the
appointed day to or in respect of
an officer, a sum representing the
cost, if any, of the Ghana element
of such pension;
(ii) in respect of any pension
(other than a widows' and orphans'
pension) awarded on or after the
appointed day to or in respect of
an officer, that part of the sum
which would represent the Ghana
element of such pension if the
public service of the officer
ceased on the appointed day, which
is attributable to the officer's
relevant service up to the day
immediately preceding the
appointed day;
(iii) in respect of widows’ and
orphans' pensions, such stocks,
funds, securities or moneys as
represent the interest in the
Widows' and Orphans' Pensions
(Overseas Officers) Fund
established under Ordinance No. 24
of contributory officers and their
potential beneficiaries alive on
the appointed day, and the
beneficiaries alive on the
appointed day of deceased
contributory officers.
(2) The sums payable under
sub-paragraph (1) (c) (i), (1) (c)
(ii) and (1) (c) (iii) of this
Article shall be actuarially
determined by an actuary nominated
by the Government of the United
Kingdom and acceptable to the
Government of Ghana and shall be
reduced by a sum accepted by the
two Governments as representing
the tax which the Government of
Ghana would have received in
respect of the Ghana element of
the pensions.
ARTICLE 5
Supply of Information.
Each of the Parties to this
Agreement shall whenever requested
to do so by the other Party,
supply to that Party such
Information in connection with the
operation of the arrangements
contained in this Agreement as may
be specified in such request.
ARTICLE 6
Modification of Previous
Agreements.
On and after the appointed day the
provisions of Articles 3, 4, 5,
and the words “and that it will
preserve his pension rights when
he is so transferred or promoted”
in Article 6 of the Public
Officers Agreement shall cease to
apply to or in respect of officers
to whom this Agreement applies.
ARTICLE 7
Modification of this Agreement.
If the Government of the United
Kingdom and the Government of
Ghana mutually decide that this
Agreement should be modified in
any particular case or class of
cases the foregoing provisions of
this Agreement shall be applied to
such case or cases with such
modifications, additions or
exceptions as may be necessary to
give effect to such mutual
decisions.
ARTICLE 8
Entry into Force.
Each of the Parties to this
Agreement shall notify the other
Party in writing as soon as it has
completed the domestic legislation
and other arrangements necessary
to enable it to carry out the
Agreement, and this Agreement
shall enter into force on the date
on the later of these two
notifications.
ARTICLE 9
Citation.
This Agreement may be cited as the
Public Officers' Pensions (Ghana)
Agreement, 1976.
IN witness whereof, the
undersigned, duly authorised
thereto by their respective
Governments, have signed this
Agreement.
Done in duplicate at Accra this
23rd day of February, 1976.
J. K. DADSON F.
MILLS, C.M.G. For the For the
Government of the
Government
of the United Kingdom of
Republic of Ghana
Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
Made this 25th day of February,
1976.
COLONEL I. K. ACHEAMPONG
Chairman of the Supreme Military
Council
Date of Gazette Notification: 27th
February, 1976.
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