The assertions that Ghanaian ministers who are also parliamentarians are paid an extra salary or allowance have been rebutted by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information.
He claimed that the president has implemented a policy that prevents MPs who double as ministers from being paid extra salary.
Speaking in an interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo morning show, monitored by 1Family Radio, the minister, who doubles as the MP for the Ofoase-Ayirebi Constituency, disclosed that he is not even paid one cedi as a Minister of State.
“If we are talking about the size of the government, I believe we are referring to the size of the compensation budget, particularly the money used to pay government workers.’’
“When you talk about the compensation budget, there is a part of it that has to do with people who are not political appointees, like those I mentioned previously, the rotational nurses, police, and others. However, I think the one that’s being discussed involves political appointments,’’ he said.
“While it is true that the president gave reasons for selecting a particular number of ministers, he also added a clause explaining that the majority of the ministers he has chosen are members of parliament and that, as such, they do not receive any additional compensation and their appointment does not incur any additional costs for the taxpayer.’’
“Since Nana Afuffo-Addo’s policy is that if you are a Member of Parliament and he appoints you as a minister, it is not even up to you to decide whether you want this or not; you are paid on your MP salary; they don’t pay me one cedi as the Minister of State.’’
“So when people make this argument about the size of the government, the reality is that the majority of ministers who are Members of Parliament don’t get paid extra,’’ he added.
Source: 1Familyradio
