The GH¢10K salary debate, is it really enough?

A conversation on salaries sprung up on Twitter over the weekend. It started when Nigerians were debating about whether or not a 400K naira salary is enough.

While many agreed that that may not exactly be ideal for the living conditions in Nigeria, others were of the varied view that earning that much is actually highly impossible and may be a good salary for living a decent living.

Narrowing the conversation to Ghana, a conversion of 400K naira to cedis, using a Google converter, will give you GH¢10,251.06, and this is where the debate began.

Many people have posited that if they were earning that much, leaving Ghana will not be an option. However, the other side of the table was of the view that GH¢10,000 is not enough.

Earning GH¢10,000 as a salary in Ghana today may sound like a dream to many Ghanaians. The fact of the matter is that, so many jobs in Ghana do not pay employees that much.

This assessment is based on the various job vacancies that are displayed on social media and in the papers. The average salary for an entry-level position in Ghana ranges between GH¢1500 and GH¢3500.

For a senior role, one may earn between GH¢5000 to GH¢7000.

It is not a lie, or far-fetched that a lot of Ghanaians do not earn as much from their jobs, the reason relocating from the country has become “the Ghanaian dream” for many people.

Even as the conversation on salaries is ongoing, the latest report by the Ghana Statistical Service stated that about 1.76 million persons were unemployed in the third quarter of 2022.

Unemployment in Ghana is a real problem, whereas underpayment is an even bigger problem.

But like demand and supply in simple economics, if more people are chasing fewer jobs, employers tend to exploit labour by paying low wages or dishing out unfair and sometimes unhealthy work conditions.

Here are some of the takes and opinions below:

Make you no follow twitter reject some ghc3K offer ooo . Everybody Dey talk in mind for here
— Hazel Kaizoku (@meister_kwame) May 8, 2023

The efficiency of the salary depends on the individual
Me like this 4k no go reach me cos me girlfriends yɛ 15

Three of them dey stay mampong so if in a month each of them decides to visit me in Accra, T&T for all three be like 1300 cedis

The remaining 12 no come yet
— Kay???? (@KayPoissonOne) May 8, 2023

There are prolly people in the replies who are unemployed and not in any profitable business but belittling GHS 10k (Approx $1,000) a month in Ghana.

If you don’t have common sense on this social media, someone praying to be where you are will still make you feel worthless https://t.co/E8AbEZ10HI
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) May 8, 2023

Twitter people say GHC 10K salary a month no be money? Let’s be honest, how many 9-5 people sef dey earn GHC 5K+ a month? Mo de3 mo… unnecessary pressure nkoaa.
— MR.LAW (@the_law_himself) May 8, 2023

Only about 1% of the jobs in the public sector pay 10k. 77% earn less than 3k/month. Anybody who thinks 10k is too small is already doing fine here in Ghana. https://t.co/DQqC5NJYgn
— jerome (@readJerome) May 8, 2023