A law lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Mr Kofi Abotsi, has disagreed with proposals to introduce pay disparities between Members of Parliament (MPs) depending on the length of time they have served. The pay differences, according to him, cannot be justified by the mere fact of how long one has served in Parliament. He however agreed that the salaries of MPs should be reviewed upwards. On Wednesday, 19 January, 2011, a former Deputy Majority Leader, John Tia told Joy News that a Parliamentary Committee is deliberating on the issue of whether MPs who have served longer should receive more salary new members. He said members of the committee were of the view that MPs who have longer period should receive more salary. A labour consultant, Austin Gamey, agreed. According to him, the same can be seen in other public organizations where one’s salary is determined by how long he or she has worked at the organization. He however played down comparisons between MPs who do not have higher academic certificates and those who have, insisting comparisons are unfair since MPs are not determined based on educational standards but determined by the electorate. But speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Abotsi averred that it would be ambiguous to determine who qualifies to be a senior MP since Parliament begins a new session after every general election. “…I find it very difficult also to rationalize and justify that [MPs’ pay disparities]. If we are paying officials within Parliament, i.e. the Leadership of Parliament holding specific offices and being assigned specific responsibilities a certain amount of money, I think that is easy to rationalize. "But paying people simply on the basis of seniority and on the basis of the fact that they’ve been in the House longer than others, I think that is problematic,” he stated. Mr Tia who is also the Information Minister said the committee intend to propose to the President’s Committee on Emoluments that the salary of MPs be pegged GH¢8,000 a month. That, he said was to help MPs meet their insurmountable financial burden often placed on them by their constituents. Story by Fidel Amoah/Myjoyonline.com