Salaries Take 50% of National Income As Gov’t Reviews Pay Systems

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Madam Abena Osei Asare, has revealed that 50 per cent of the country’s revenue garnered are channelled into payment of salaries and compensations.

According to her, the wage bill, for five years, has consistently munched a large chunk of government’s proceeds making it an issue of worry and deep deliberation.

The deputy minister made these remarks at the Inauguration of an 11-man Committee tasked to Review Ghana’s Pay systems―both public and private.

“We need to sit with the stakeholders and see how best government can do something about high compensation rates…we need to have an efficient compensation system that would not just benefit this generation but the generation to come,” she said.

Committee’s Terms of Reference

According to the Minister for Employment and Labour Relation, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the team in the next three months will examine and review the current pay systems to determine whether or not the systems are sustainable.

While measuring the level of productivity in the public sector, the team is to establish means of increasing productivity and finding ways through which exceptional public officers would be rewarded for proper work done.

Mr Baffour Awuah also tasked the committee to examine and review the pension schemes and to ascertain how sustainable they are.

According to him, pension schemes in Ghana were facing so many challenges and if not properly handled, may lead to their collapse.

The minister said many institutions and organisation were opting out of the Tier One pension scheme and moving to Tier Two given the fact Tier One is a contributing pension scheme and the other is not.

“…if we not careful, a time will come when the ministry of finance will have to use more and more of their revenues to service pension demands,” he added.

He therefore urged the committee to work with the time limit given them so they could swiftly advise government on how to handle all the issue listed.

Members of the Committee

The advisory group would be chaired by the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Bright Wireko Brobbey.

The members are Abena Osei- Asare, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Mrs Eva Addo, Rev. Brenda Osei-Kofi and Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo.

The others are; Mr. J.N.O. Ankrah, Mr. K. Ahenakwa-Quarshie, Mr. Kenneth Koomson, Dr Benjamin Amoah, Dr William Baah Boateng and Mr Elvis Selase Azangodo.

Members were selected from Government, Ghana Employment Association (GEA) and Organised Labour.

The committee’s report which is to be submitted before the end of April next year, would be used to determine the minimum wage for 2019.

Source: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]