Government begins payment of Military gratuity arrears under CI 129
25th February 2026
The Government of Ghana is set to commence payment of long-standing gratuity arrears owed to retired military personnel under Constitutional Instrument (CI) 129, with the first tranche expected to be released by close of business on February 27, 2026.
The Ghana Armed Forces announced the development in a statement issued on Wednesday, February 25, describing the move as the outcome of sustained engagements among key state institutions.
According to the statement, the payment arrangement follows an agreement between the Military High Command, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Defence to implement a two-year phased plan to clear the arrears.
Under the arrangement, a total of 2,393 retired personnel—comprising 238 officers and 2,155 soldiers—will benefit from the revised gratuity formula introduced under CI 129.
Eligible beneficiaries are those who retired from November 2020 onwards.
The Armed Forces explained that after the initial payment, the outstanding balances will be settled in four additional instalments, scheduled to run through to December 2027.
The decision to clear the arrears follows a directive issued in January 2026 by John Dramani Mahama during the annual West African Soldiers’ Social Activity held at Burma Camp.
At the event, the President instructed the Minister of Finance to urgently release funds to address the backlog, which he said exceeded GH¢1 billion and affected nearly 3,000 retired personnel.
President Mahama attributed the accumulation of the arrears to the absence of dedicated budgetary allocations following the introduction of CI 129 in 2020. The policy extended the years of service for military personnel, resulting in higher retirement benefits without a corresponding increase in funding.
At the same gathering, the President also announced that new salary scales for personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces would take effect in March 2026, with arrears for January and February to be paid within the same period.
In the statement signed by Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, Acting Director General of Public Relations, the Armed Forces said the payments would finally resolve an issue that had remained unsettled for more than five years.
It added that going forward, all future retirements would be processed strictly in accordance with CI 129.