News:
January 24, 2011
The Member of Parliament for Adenta, Kwadwo Adu Asare, has justified the proposal by parliamentarians for their salaries to pegged at GH¢7,000 per month.
The MPs currently receive a salary of about GH¢2,500 a month. They last had a pay rise in October 2010, when their salaries were increased by 17%.
According to the MPs, the proposed increase is based on the fact their current meager salaries does not enable them execute their many responsibilities effectively, in the current difficult economic conditions.
Members of a committee set up by the Parliament to review the salaries and conditions of service of the nation’s law makers, for which the services of a consultant has been engaged, initially considered a salary band of between Gh¢ 5,000 and Gh¢8,000, but settled on the compromise figure of Gh¢7,000.
Contributing to a discussion on Peace Fm’s morning show on Monday, the Member of Parliament for Adenta, Kwadwo Adu Asare stated that in as much as MP’s are not in parliament to enrich themselves , their huge responsibilities should not also render them paupers.
‘’ You wake up early in the morning and you are met with several people on your veranda with all sorts of problems seeking financial support from you, most of the time it is practically impossible for you to turn them down even when you don’t have money’’ he said.
“Invitations to attend social events such as funerals, out-doorings and weddings seriously drain our pockets’’ he added.
Comparing to their colleagues in other countries such as Kenya and the United States, Hon. Kwadwo Adu Asare argued that the salaries the MP’s receive for serving Ghanaians in the legislature is woefully inadequate.
Meanwhile the proposal for increased pay by the MPs have been met with sharp criticisms from sections of the public who believe the proposed amount is on the higher side. They argue that since the economy is not very sound, the country should not pay such huge salaries to MPs particularly when they will soon receive their fat ex-gratia.
Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh