Gov’t could save GHS 10bn through public sector payroll cleansing exercise, FWSC says
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has announced that the Ghanaian government could save up to GH₵10 billion if the ongoing payroll cleansing exercise is completed successfully. This revelation was made during a consultative meeting with the Civil Service and Local Government Service on the ongoing Nationwide Payroll Monitoring Exercise. The Commission explained that from last year to the first three months of this year, it undertook a preliminary monitoring in collaboration with the Internal Audit Agency, which covered about 58 public institutions.
The purpose of the meeting was to explain to the leadership of the Civil Service and the Local Government Service the purpose and scope of the payroll monitoring exercise. The Chief Executive Officer of FWSC, Benjamin Arthur, noted that the commission’s large focus on the payroll monitoring exercise is on education, health, and Public administration. He also stressed that the commission is collaborating with the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) to also help with the State-Owned Enterprises.
The primary objective of the payroll monitoring exercise is to ensure fairness and equity in pay administration as well as to manage the public sector wage bill effectively. The commission’s preliminary monitoring found that 22% of the wage bill might be made up of unearned salaries. Unearned salary occurs when a person receives a salary to which they are not entitled or when they resign but are still on the payroll inadvertently.
With the 2022 wage bill estimated to be GH₵44.9 billion, if 22% of that amount were allocated to unearned pay, that amount would be close to GH₵10 billion. This represents a significant amount, especially when considering that the nation needs money for other areas of the economy.
The challenges addressed in the payroll monitoring exercise will include wrong placement, unearned salaries, separated staff and Ghost workers, unapproved benefits, and other forms of payroll fraud. The exercise will cover the entire public sector institutions and employees except Article 72 Office Holders, and it will be effective as long as the commission exists.
The exercise has been divided into four zones, and ten teams have been deployed for the exercise. About 28 institutions have so far been engaged. The Minister of Employment and Labour, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, urged the FWSC to broaden engagement with all relevant stakeholders to make the exercise successful.
Head of Civil Service, Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, appealed to the FWSC to attach a “human face” and protect the confidentiality of workers while correcting the wrongs. He asked the leaderships of the various institutions to hold durbars and explain the exercise to their staff to avoid agitations. “This is a crucial national assignment so it is something that we all support. We are not using this as a punitive measure, but wrongs must be corrected,” he said.
The payroll monitoring exercise is a significant move by the Ghanaian government to manage its public sector wage bill effectively and ensure fairness and equity in pay administration. The revelation that the government could save up to GH₵10 billion if the exercise is successful highlights the importance of the exercise, especially given the current economic climate. It is hoped that the exercise will be successful in addressing the anomalies in the Public Sector Payroll and minimize irregularities to save money to support the economy.
