Parliament Needs A Strong Position On Possible Pay Cuts For MPs – Okudzeto Ablakwa

• MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on his colleague MPs to take a unified decision on whether or not to take a pay cut
• He said after pay cuts by government appointees and members of the Council of State, the spotlight was now on the Legislature
• Mr Ablakwa has already donated his two months' salary to National Service personnel posted to his constituency

MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is pushing Parliament to take a firm decision on possible pay cuts for MPs to save the economy.

According to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP, legislators differ on whether the Legislature should emulate the voluntary decision by the Members of the Council of State for a 20% cut.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament last Thursday, he said after a further 30% pay cut was announced for Nana Akufo-Addo’s appointees, the Legislature has suddenly become everyone’s focus.

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“I was wondering if we cannot take advantage of discussing some matters that have come up that puts Parliament in the spotlight,” he said in a video shared by Joy News.

“I heard the honourable minister of finance saying that they have taken some pay cuts; the Council of State has also taken some pay cuts and is looking up to the Legislature.”

Mr Ablakwa has already donated his entire two-month salary as an MP to pay the allowances of the National Service personnel in his constituency.

In a post on Facebook, the North Tongu MP for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said he donated his January and February 2022 salary to the district office of the National Service Scheme (NSS) in his constituency on March 22, 2022.

In yet another post on Facebook, he disclosed that he is determined to take a pay cut by as much as 40%.

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His only problem, he stated, was whether he should give the money to government or his constituency.

Ghana's economy has been hit with a series of challenges including high inflation, depreciation of the cedi and dwindling revenues.

Minority Calls For Return Of Road Tolls To Increase Government Revenue

The Minority in Parliament has repeated a call for the hastily scrapped road toll collection to be reintroduced to improve the government’s revenue generation drive.

Addressing the press shortly after the finance minister presented the measures to mitigate the economic hardships, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the decision to halt road tolls was terrible for the government’s revenue.

"We want [road tolls] re-instated. We demand that tollbooths are made functional, and the revenues accruing from it be made available to the Republic,” Mr Iddrisu told a packed press on the forecourt of Parliament.

Source: YEN.com.gh