Outspoken Member of Parliament for Assin Central in the Central
Region, Kennedy Agyapong has disclosed that he is the highest-paid legislator
in Ghana.
According to the New Patriotic
Party (NPP), MP being a parliamentarian is not as lucrative as many Ghanaians
think.
In an interview with Adom TV,
Mr. Agyapong said MPs in Ghana suffer a lot for nothing.
He explained that the reason why
he’s the highest-paid is that most of the other MPs have taken several loans
that get deducted from their salaries on monthly basis.
Noting that he has only one loan
(a car loan) which they deduct from his account. Thus making him have the
highest salary at the end of the month.
The emoluments of MPs is a very
topical and sensitive issue. Before the term of Ghana’s 7th parliament expired,
the leaders of the House met with the press to explain and make a case for an
improved end of service benefit and an increase in the salary.
It is believed that the
lawmakers in the last parliament took about GHC14,000 as salary and GHC 400,000
as an end of service benefit.
But the Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, argued
that MPs deserve better emoluments because their job has no security of tenure.
While the MPs push for an
increase in the package, they have faced some criticism from the public.
There is an indication, however,
that, the figures on the table for MPs are ranging from between a salary of GHS
21,000 to GHS 24,000 as well as a lump sum of between GHS400,000 and
GHS600,000.
Watch Mr. Agyapong’s full video below;
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