Request For Austerity To Begin With Your Senior Appointees

The Taxpayers’ Alliance Ghana is a registered Human Rights Advocacy Group and a Think Tank working towards lower taxes, accountable governance and taxpayer rights across Ghana. We have taken notice of the numerous waste that has unfortunately engulfed our beloved country and to help ameliorate these, we propose that as a matter of urgency the salaries and allowances for Ministers and their Deputies be cut down for the state to make some amount of savings to help solve the numerous self-inflicted challenges we find ourselves as a people including buying chalk for our schools.

ACCOMMODATION
Ministers and Government appointees should be made to rent their own accommodation like those in the private sector with a decent basic salary and it should NOT be furnished. BASIC SALARY The Basic salary of ten thousand Ghana cedis (GHC10, 000) should be maintained.

DUTY ALLOWANCE
The duty allowance of 50% of basic salary which is currently GHC5,000 should be scrapped because they are paid a basic salary of GHc10,000 SPECIAL ALLOWANCE Currently, Ministers of State are paid a special allowance of 30% of basic salary which is GHC3, 000.We are of the view that this allowance is a drain on the ailing Ghanaian economy and as such should be scrapped.

ENTERTAINMENT ALLOWANCE
On entertainment, we think that to say the least, it is needless for our Ministers to entertain themselves with35% of basic salary (GHC3, 500) whilst we have for the past three years been through erratic power supply and recently with the health crisis we are faced with as Doctors, some Psychiatric Nurses and Pharmacists are on strike and lives are being lost by the day. The Taxpayers Alliance Ghana shall be grateful if you could use your office to scrap this allowance.

WARDROBE ALLOWANCE
The 10% of basic salary (GHc 1,000) for wardrobe allowance should be paid twice a year and not monthly as it currently prevails.

FREE FUEL
The 45 gallons of fuel a week should be scrapped.
ONE 4X4 CROSS COUNTRY
The one 4*4 Land Cruiser for the Minister should be abolished but rather the vehicle remains at the pool of the Ministry so it is fueled whenever the Minister travels for his or her use.

ONE LUXURY SALOON CAR
A saloon Car should be bought but not a luxurious one. This should not be more than $30,000

ONE CHAUFFEUR
The policy where our Ministers are chauffeured should be abolished unless one has been declared medically unfit to drive. Mr President, with all due respect the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson always attends to his official duties on a bicycle.

ONE COOK
For the taxpayer to pay for cooks for our Ministers is not the best of policies as over 70% of our budget is financed by taxpayers in Europe, Asia, and North America et cetera ONE GARDNER AND ONE STEWARD The gardener and the steward the taxpayer pay monthly for Ministers should be abolished. ONE SECURITY One security at the residence of the Minister should be maintained.

POLICE ESCORT
The police escort should be maintained as the security of your appointees can not be compromised.

EX-GRATIA
The Ex-Gratia of GHc400, 000 per 2013 figures is a slap in the face of the Ghanaian taxpayer and we believe political appointees at the end of every four years should not be paid more than Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Civil and Public Servants and a host of others who conduct the affairs of the Nation at the end of their service. We hope you see reason in our proposals so the taxpayer would help you implement your ‘’policy credibility’’ austerity measures from the IMF.

Mr President, we do not mean to spite you but to critique your government so the taxpayer would not be short-changed. May God bless us all.

Yours Sincerely
Frank Asiedu Bekoe
Executive Director
Mobile:+233-246-705510