Story: News Desk

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has begun its nationwide payroll monitoring exercise from the camp of the Internal Audit Agency.

The Commission a few weeks ago announced the planned exercise with the aim of cleaning up the public sector payroll of any anomalies.

The announcement was met with reservations from the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), however, the commission explained that in line with the Commission’s Act 2007 (737) it is mandated to develop and monitor allowances and benefits of public sector workers among others.

On Monday the exercise commenced in earnest with the payroll of the Internal Audit Agency subjected to scrutiny.

“We thought that our house should be clean, so we have asked them (Internal Audit Agency) to do their own internal auditing and share the report with us so that we will also verify. We want to announce to the general public especially to publicize sector entities and workers that this exercise is not a joke and that it is a very serious exercise. If you know you are not deserving of what you are taking, advise yourself accordingly,” Benjamin Arthur, Chief Executive Officer for the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission said.

In reaction, the Internal Audit Agency disclosed its readiness to partner with the commission to bring sanity to government’s payroll.

The Director-General for the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Osae further revealed that some institutions and public Universities have emerged as institutions with the most payroll infractions over the period.

He said this trend must be reversed as soon as possible.

“You take the educational and health service sectors of Ghana and local government sectors, and you see that there are challenges there. I am not saying it is widespread in these sectors, but they are risky areas that demand an eye on the payrolls or else it will keep bloating. The other areas include tertiary institutions. There are people who go on sabbatical leave with some never returning but get paid,” Dr. Eric Kwaku Osae, Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency noted.

The commission  hopes  to correct issues like overpayment, underpayment, ghost names, and other anomalies in the public sector payment structure.