Minority Leader: Ghanaian MPs paupers in West Africa

Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says the salary of Members of Parliament, compared to those of their colleagues in other countries in the West African sub-region, makes them appear as paupers.

Ghana’s MPs currently receive about Ghc7, 200 as salary.

Delivering a lecture about the deficit in parliamentary scrutiny in the fight against corruption at the 2013 Liberty lecture organised by the Danquah Institute Tuesday, Mensah-Bonsu said the work of MPs must be properly compensated.

Comparing the welfare of MPs to Ministers of State, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said while appointees of the Executive are chauffeured in fully serviced and fuelled cross country vehicles and luxurious saloon cars at the expense of the State, MPs, who are mandated to ensure checks and balances, take loans to buy their own vehicles.

“How do the citizens expect Members of Parliament to perform their functions?” He wondered.

“Today…the take home salary of Members of Parliament is less than US$2,500 which does not compare to the 10,500 of Kenyan MPs, 7,200 of Tanzanian MPs, 7,100 of Nigerian MPs. In deed in the West African sub-region, it is only Guinea Bissau, whose MPs are worse off in remuneration than Ghana’s MPs”, the Minority Leader bemoaned.

He said: “Maybe the nation must confront this and objectively and impartially deal with this once and for all”.