On The Salaries Of Ministers And Presidents In Africa

There is currently an outcry in Ghana because the salaries of ministers and the president have been increased and backdated to 2009. As the BBC reports, the salary of the president "has gone up from about $4,240 (£2,640) to $6,357, which is tax free." The salary of ministers has also gone up $4,770. While there is outcry in Ghana about the amount I would like to see what is going on there from the perspective of a glass half full rather than a glass half empty. This position is that the Ghanaians at least know how much their president and ministers are being paid. This, I should say, is a great improvement and speaks to the faltering transparency that is beginning to be part of Ghana's democracy. Ghanaians would not even have the opportunity to raise such an outcry if they lived in dictatorships such as Cameroon or Equatorial Guinea where the salaries of presidents and ministers are not known. This position by no means sanctions the increase in salaries in Ghana but it gives a different perspective from which to see what is going on there. Ghana is still a good example for other African countries to emulate, this outcry notwithstanding. Those in power must constantly be held accountable.