The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has rescinded its decision not to pay public sector employees who do not have a Ghana card.
According to the CAGD’s first order, government employees risk losing their December 2021 salaries.
The action was claimed to be part of the Ghanaian government’s attempts to provide government workers and retirees with a quick, secure, and validated payroll service while minimizing the possibility of undeserved payments or claims.
However, after discussions with the Ministries of Employment and Labour Relations, Finance, and the Account General, the administration has backtracked on concerns expressed by labor unions.
The two Ministries have ordered the CAGD to “transfer the names of public sector employees in their current databases onto the NIA platform and subsequently notify the different institutions of any unregistered staff that may exist” in a communiqué released following a joint meeting on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
With this new intervention, the December deadline for government employees to get Ghana cards before collecting their salary has been lifted.
However, governmental institutions have been urged to encourage their employees to register with the National Identification Authority (NIA) as soon as possible in order to obtain the Ghana Card.
A section of government employees and unions have been agitating since the Department announced the order on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, with some requesting that the Controller and Accountant-General rethink the decision, remove it entirely, or extend the deadline.
According to organized labor, the NIA should be responsible for capturing government employees on its database rather than forcing them to protect the cards.
They argued that the move is a clumsy attempt to fix flaws in the government’s payroll system.
However, the National Identification Authority defended the order, claiming that it is a step in the right way.
Earlier, the CAGD said it will not withdraw its directive.
Read Also: Spio sues Wontumi for calling him a thief; demands $10M as compensation
