FWSC: 22% of wage bill went to the wrong pockets.
According to a preliminary monitoring report on 58 institutions, which was made public by the Fair Wages and income Commission (FWSC), roughly 22% of their salary bill is believed to be made up of undeserved income.
This development came about as a result of a continuous nationwide payroll monitoring effort to eliminate fraud and abnormalities in the public sector payroll.
The goal of the exercise is to prevent Ghana from losing an estimated $10 billion in unearned wages each year.
At a meeting with chief directors, coordinating directors, and human resource officers from the various organizations providing civil and local government services regarding the exercise, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) revealed this.
According to Benjamin Arthur, the Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, if the statistic applied to the entire public sector, 22% of the pay bill would be made up of unearned salaries.
What that indicates is that the 2022 wage bill was GH42.9 billion, or roughly GH10 billion, or 22% of it. This is significant since we pay unearned salaries equal to one-fourth of our wage bill despite the fact that we desperately need resources for other economic sectors, the speaker remarked.
The monitoring effort is a component of FWSC’s role under the FWSC Act, 2007 (Act 737), which includes developing and overseeing benefits and allowances as well as coordinating, managing, and monitoring collective bargaining procedures where the government serves as the direct or indirect employer.
The exercise’s main goals are to manage the public sector salary budget and maintain fairness and equity in the administration of pay.
Other initiatives
According to Mr. Arthur, the program’s success depends on assistance from important stakeholders who will help the nation clean up its payroll.
He stated, “If we are able to save the GH 10 billion annually, we can launch a housing scheme for public workers and reduce the housing deficit in the country. It would also improve remuneration for public workers by reducing the incidence of payroll fraud and related corruption cases.
For the experiment, ten teams made up of employees from FWSC and the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) were set up. Mr. Arthur disclosed that notices regarding the exercise had been given to the various institutions. They had to follow instructions to conduct internal audits and submit the results to the commission.
He declared that this year’s exercise would center on public administrations, health care, and education.
He emphasized, however, that “if we are instructed by the President to add Article 71 office holders, we shall be glad to do so” even if the exercise will not include those who occupy positions covered by Article 71.
Enhance cooperation
Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, asked the directors to cooperate with the FWSC to purge the nation’s public payroll.
He had given the panel the responsibility of deepening discussions with other stakeholders and ensuring that they understood the exercise properly to ensure maximum cooperation.
According to Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, the head of the civil service, his organization will support the commission in its efforts to root out fraud as well as to help people who aren’t getting the benefits they are entitled to as employees.
“This is a very important national exercise, and we will support it to make it a success,” he pledged.
Table of Contents
About Author
