Poor salaries paid to MPs has been identified as a major cause of absenteeism and non-punctuality in Parliament.

The Majority Deputy Whip and NPP MP for Nkawkaw, Hon. Kwabena Adusa Okerchiri, made this admission in an interview with the DAILY DISPATCH in Parliament.
“……. I must confess that my experience as a Whip tells me that many backbenchers also do not attend upon the House either regularly or promptly. Apparently, they have some business to do elsewhere because remuneration is quite bad, they have to make up for the meagre salaries”, ,… he said.

On the part of Ministers who are also MPs, it has been argued in certain circles that until Article 78(1) is either amended or repealed, the situation will not improve.

Meanwhile, most callers to a programme on a local radio station condemned the MP’s statement saying that poor salaries should not be the basis for MPs absence from Parliament. They argued that the MPs campaigned for and were elected to represent their constituents, hence the argument about the poor remuneration is baseless. Others though urged the MPs to invest in less time consuming ventures to enable them to attend sittings regularly.