Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, has spoken out about the fact that he receives no compensation for his position.
According to him, he receives a salary only as a minister and not as a member of Parliament since he is both.
In response to widespread worries over the growth of government, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah emphasised that citizens shouldn’t just look at the compensation budget but at how that money is distributed amongst political appointees and other government employees as well.
The minister stated in an interview on Peace FM that the salary budget includes all of them, with the largest share going to non-political appointees such as temporary nurses and police officers.
“If you talk about the size of the government… I believe you are talking about the size of the compensation budget, more especially the money which is used to pay government workers. That is divided into two parts, one part has to do with those who are not political appointees, like those I have been mentioning this morning, the rotational nurses, police, and others. When you talk about the compensation budget, there is part of it… but I believe that the one people are talking about has to do with political appointees.
“It is true that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo explained why he chose a certain number of ministers, but there was a clause he added in which he explained that the majority of ministers he has appointed are members of parliament, and because they are members of parliament, they don’t take anything extra; it doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything extra on the compensation side.” he said.
He emphasised that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s policy is to not pay parliamentarians who also serve as ministers two salaries.
“For me, that I am talking to you… they don’t pay me one cedi as Minister of State, because Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s policy is that, if you are a Member of Parliament and he gives you a minister or deputy minister, it is not even up to you to make a choice that you want this or not, you get paid on your MP salary. 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.
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