The Member of parliament for Keta constituency, Hon Dzudzorli Kwame Gakpey says about 70% of MPs are on BP drugs due to pressure
In an interview on Adekye Mu Nsem this morning, he stated that, the pressure on them to sometimes take care of people within their constituency coupled with other responsibities with the amount of salary they receive is not an easy task
He was responding to the suggestion by the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah that MPs should voluntarily consider a pay cut because the government is also doing same as part of austerity measures to resolve the prevailing economic crisis
“Look at the burdens on us, especially those of us in opposition, there is no money coming from elsewhere” he said
Hon Gakpey stated that, they as minority are not going to comply to the suggestion of pay cut
Speaking with the host, Citizen Kofi Owusu, he explained that, most of the MPs from the majority side are serving as board members and chairman where they get some allowances unlike the minority MPs
“When president Mahama was in power, those days we spoke about government appointees contributing towards the building of health facilities as well as chip compounds across the country, where were they? Did they contribute? They did not contribute. We are in opposition and you want us to do what? How much do we take?” he quizzed
“Our take home pay is GHC 11,000. From it we pay our drivers, buy fuel, take care of our needs as well as our families. Tax component on our salary, that is income tax alone is about GHC 8,000 and then you are paying car loan of about GHC 7,000. The take home, the remaining money is about GHC 11,200 and they seem to make it look like it’s a huge money” he explained
He stated that, those from the majority side are serving on boards and benefitting
“Do you know that, I can tell you on record that 70% of MPs, most of us we are on BP drugs because the pressure alone is not an easy task”
