Public Sector Workers To Lose Salaries

All public sector workers who have not been biometrically registered with Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will be removed from government payroll next month.

Kenneth Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, who made this known during the presentation of the budget in Parliament recently, said the size of the public sector compensation bill (wages, salaries & other costs), which accounts for a significant proportion of domestic revenue, is a major concern for government.

“It is one of the ‘big-three’ budget line items that continue to narrow government’s choices in pursuing higher economic growth and development programmes,” he said.

In an attempt to address the problems, the Finance Minister, said the SSNIT database would be used as a filter for the payment of public sector workers.

Mr. Ofori-Atta noted that efficient budget implementation requires a proper alignment of cash inflows and outflows.

This, he said, would improve the predictability of budget implementation and cash allocations.

“In line with this, government will strengthen its treasury management functions by creating a Treasury Management Unit at the Ministry of Finance to handle all treasury management and related functions,” the Finance Minister said.

The PFM Law

He said the current Public Financial Management (PFM) law would be enforced with regards to the utilization of Treasury Single Account (TSA).

“To this end, the bank accounts of all government institutions will be transferred to the Central Bank for ease of management and monitoring.

“Additionally, government will eliminate all payments in cash at service delivery points in public service institutions, including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), in order to improve efficiency in service delivery and revenue collection to support the TSA,” Mr. Ofori Atta added.

Source: Daily Guide