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Blame MDAs for payroll problems, says Accountant General
Ho, Feb 2, Ghanadot/GNA - Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDS) are to blame for payroll
problems, Mr Christian Sottie, Controller and Accountant
General, said on Friday at a workers forum at Denu on
Friday.
"Preparation of pay rolls have been decentralized to MDAs
that are supposed to key into the CAGD pool their individual
pay rolls and encompass the data of their personnel to
enable the department effect the necessary changes for
payment but they were always found wanting," Mr Sottie said.
Participants were from the Ketu, Keta, Akatsi, North and
South-Tongu districts.
Issues addressed included disappearance of names on pay
rolls, delays in salary payments, wrong posting and under
payment of salaries.
He said the Department has about 600,000 workers on its pay
roll, including 100,000 pensioners, so huge a number that it
normally did not touch or make any changes, except after
salary increments, new employment or promotion increments.
Mr Sottie reminded the MDAs that the department could not
know the details of employees and could only make inputs
provided to the Department.
He said the widespread distortions experienced with the
salaries of health sector workers in 2006 were due to labour
agitations in that sector and the subsequent pressure
brought on the Department to pay the negotiated salaries
with little room for cross checking of the payment inputs.
Mr Sottie said equipment shortfall and the power situation
last year also accounted for the delays.
He appealed to MDAs and their workers to be quick in feeding
the Department with problems they faced with their salaries
to ensure quick redress.
Mr Sottie denied that teachers organized under the National
Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in other regions
except the Volta Region were paid their October 2006
salaries after their industrial action.
He said the Department paid members of the Association based
on a list provided by the GES.
Mr Sottie said the delays in the payment of monthly pensions
did not come from the CAGD but some banks that constantly
delayed the payments.
"I wish I could advise the pensioners doing business with
some particular banks noted for delaying their salaries on
what to do."
Mr Sottie appealed to workers to be abreast with the annual
budget statements and said revenue expected from taxes this
year stands at GHC4.7 billion, while request from MDAs
stands GHc10.4 billion.
Four institutions including the EC and the Judiciary are
demanding GHc7.1 billion. Salaries and pensions account for
GHc3.1 billion, about 60 percent of the expected revenue.
Mr Sottie said expenditure approved by Parliament for the
year was GHc 7.1 billion, which is higher than the expected
revenue for the year and that government was looking for
GHc853 million in loans and grants from its development
partners to make up for the shortfall.
GNA
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