Data Scientist and Policy Analyst Alfred Appiah has raised concerns over Ghana’s parliamentary salaries, arguing that Members of Parliament are significantly overpaid relative to the country’s national income.
According to Alfred Appiah, using the reported salary of 60,000 cedis per month, an MP’s annual salary is equivalent to more than 20 years of the average national income per person.
Alfred Appiah, in his post, compared legislators’ base salaries versus per capita across countries, highlighting that Ghana is paying MPs 4.8 times the level predicted by national income trends, with data sourced from PoliticalSalaries.com, the World Bank, and others via Claude.
In his post, he wrote, “Talking about MPs’ salaries, the evidence suggests that Ghana significantly overpays its MPs relative to national income.
If we take the reported salary of 60,000 cedis per month, an MP’s annual salary is equivalent to more than 20 years of the average national income per person.
If MPs’ salaries were broadly aligned with national income, Ghanaian MPs would be expected to earn about $14,000 per year. The currently reported figure puts their annual salary at over $65,000, nearly five times what national income would suggest.
Note: Data for the different countries was gathered using Claude”.
In related news, Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, has explained why the United Kingdom MP’s $11,000 salary is the same as a Ghanaian MP’s $5300 salary.
In a social media post, Bright Simons compared the salary of a UK MP and a Ghanaian MP via purchasing power parity to UK MPs’ higher nominal pay, adjusting for Ghana’s lower costs in Accra versus London.
His post further contrasts the pay gap between Ghanaian nurses who earn about 8% of an MP’s salary versus 40% for equivalent UK NHS nurses, highlighting a 12.5x socioeconomic distance imposed by public pay policy.
Bright Simons further noted that Gen Z commentators are challenging the justification for such disparities more forcefully than prior generations.
In a post on X, Bright Simons wrote, “*Policy Bites from the News Reel*
Analyst Caleb Ziblim at Ghanaian media giant Multimedia says Ghanaian Members of Parliament (MPs) have been given a 100% pay hike.
Their base salary has thus jumped from GHS 30,000 to GHS 60,000.
When millennial Shatta Wale heard that Ghanaian MPs earn $2650 (GHS 30,000) a month. He expressed total shock.
First, he says it is ridiculously small. Second, he doesn’t think that if that were true, MPs would be able to afford the cars and houses he sees them in.
Shatta clearly wouldn’t see anything wrong about MPs earning $5300 a month. It might make their cars and houses less incongruous.
In fact, some millennials point to MPs of the United Kingdom earning $11,000 base pay a month.
Gen Zee commentators (analyst Caleb Ziblim’s kind and kin) are like: “wait a frigging minute!” Look, we have Internet, okay?
First, there is something called Purchasing Power Parity. A dollar in the UK buys less than it does in Ghana and a bit more in the US, home of the dollar.
So, the $11k the UK MP earns is actually like $12,240. And the $5300 the Ghanaian MP earns feels more like $12,220. Almost equal!
Then there is the cost of living. UK MPs must work in London and keep a flat there. Ghanaian MPs work in Accra. Accra rent (crazy as it is) is still ~60% lower than in Greater London.
So, what’s with the pre-internet arithmetic, Gen Zees dare Millennials.
Well, for us policy analysts, the real issue is how to set the socioeconomic distance between politicians and the average citizen by fiat of public pay policy.
The average band 5 NHS nurse (entry-level degree nurse) with 4 years’ experience hits ~$4400 a month. That is 40% of the salary of a UK MP.
A GHS nurse of equivalent standing (using Single Spine 18L rank in 2024 with ~19% cumulative adjustment since then) earns about $425 a month, base. That is 8% of the Ghanaian MP’s base.
A whopping 12.5x socioeconomic distance imposed by public pay policy. Even at the old pay scale, it would still be more than 600% higher than a degree nurse.
Methinks this time, Gen Zees are sounding more serious than Millennials.
Howzat?”
See the post below:
Talking about MPs’ salaries, the evidence suggests that Ghana significantly overpays its MPs relative to national income.
— Alfred (@CallmeAlfredo) September 7, 2026
If we take the reported salary of 60,000 cedis per month, an MP’s annual salary is equivalent to more than 20 years of the average national income per… pic.twitter.com/BtyBU9wVTr
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