Drivers of Ghanaian MPs underpaid; receiving GH¢200 as monthly salary

Drivers of the country’s lawmakers are receiving as low as GH¢200 as their monthly salary according to some of them.

One of them who spoke on Accra-based Okay Fm on grounds of strict anonymity revealed that he has been driving a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2013 but has been receiving GH¢400 which has not received any upward adjustment.

“I have been receiving this amount since 2013. I have dependents and pay school fees as well as catering for the upkeep of my family. They have comprehensively insured their vehicles but they refused to take proper care of us. Even to pay our Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is a big problem.

According to him, he and other drivers are demanding an increase in their salaries.

He said have they been compelled to make the issue public because their salaries have not seen any improvement for almost ten years even though MPs have had several salary adjustments within the same period.

“In this day Ghana, collecting a salary of GH¢200.00, GH¢ 300.00 and GH¢ 400 a month is very bad. What are we going to do with that [money]? That is what we are saying. We are not fighting with them. We are begging them that they should increase the salaries for us,” he pleaded.

A group calling itself Youth Alliance Movement has waded into the issue and petitioned the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and SSNIT to summon the leadership of parliament over the matter.

Tweneboah Koduah who leads the advocacy group, threatened to drag the matter to the Supreme Court if these two bodies fail to act within the stipulated period.