The flag bearer of Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG), Dr John Enyonam Kpikpi, has called for a fundamental overhaul of the remuneration and privileges of Members of Parliament, arguing that politics should be driven by public service rather than personal enrichment.

He said Ghana must begin a broader national conversation on the salaries, allowances and conditions of service enjoyed by MPs, insisting that the current system has created incentives for people to enter politics for financial gain instead of genuine service to the nation.

According to Dr Kpikpi, there is nothing wrong with challenging a political class that has designed and sustained a system which primarily serves its own interests while ordinary Ghanaians continue to bear the burden.

“The motivation for going into politics must not be ‘to become rich quickly’. But rather to serve your country like everyone else is serving in the hospitals, classrooms and the civil service.”

He maintained that Members of Parliament deserve to be paid because “the worker deserves to be paid for his labour,” but stressed that their remuneration should be modest and comparable to essential public service professions.

Dr Kpikpi proposed that the salary of an MP should fall somewhere between that of a school teacher and a medical doctor, adding that, philosophically, it should be less attractive than the earnings of a doctor and only slightly higher than those of a teacher.

“I think the salaries of MPs should be pitched somewhere between a teacher’s salary and a medical doctor’s salary. All conditions of service and privileges should not be any different from those of teachers and doctors.
This will clean out those entering the role for their own gain and leave only those choosing the work because they care about Ghana.”

The PAG leader further argued that reducing the financial attraction of parliamentary office would discourage aspirants from taking huge loans to finance election campaigns with the expectation of recovering the money after winning office.

He said Ghana should instead build an economy where productive sectors offer greater financial opportunity than politics.

“If the goal is better financial prospects, we must make it more attractive for a young graduate to become a farmer growing rice or rearing chickens than aiming to become an MP.”

Dr Kpikpi believes aligning political office with the spirit of national service rather than wealth accumulation would restore public trust and attract leaders committed to the country’s long-term development.

By Bawa Musah