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Yesterday, I saw a nurse in tears. Her salary has been in arrears for ten months. She lives at Pantang and spends ₵42 every day just to commute to work.
For 10 months she has woken up, put on her uniform, and reported for duty, not knowing when, or if, she will be paid. She has borrowed to pay for transport, begged to buy food, and sacrificed her own dignity to keep the health system running.
This is not a story about one nurse. It is a story about the collapse of accountability in our payroll system.
When the state delays pay, it is not saving money, it is taxing the poor, forcing frontline workers to finance the government through loans and sacrifices they cannot afford.
No public servant should ever have to choose between serving their country and feeding their family. When a nurse, teacher, or national service personnel works for months without pay, it is not a clerical error. It is a violation of trust.
Salaries are not favors; they are earned rights. Pay Day must be sacred. We must reset payroll so budget promises automatically translate into timely paychecks.
Here are GOGO’s Top Ten Measures to Guarantee Salaries on Time
- No Unfunded Postings: Every recruitment or posting must be tied to a funded position ID in the Establishment Register. If the budget doesn’t provide, the posting doesn’t happen.
- First-Charge Protection of Salaries:
Make wages the first call on funds after debt and constitutional obligations. Wages are untouchable & non-negotiable. - Temporary Pay Codes for New Staff:
Issue provisional pay codes immediately so no one works unpaid while verification continues. - Stabilization Buffer for Wages: Create a wage contingency fund to absorb cash-flow shocks and guarantee uninterrupted pay. Surpluses from agencies like the National Lotteries Authority should be redirected here, rather than to fund beauty pageants.
- HR–Payroll Data Integration: Enable real-time HRMIS & payroll sync so postings, transfers, and promotions instantly update salaries.
- No Ministerial Discretion on Funds:
Remove the power of the Minister of Finance to delay releases. Once salaries are appropriated, they must flow automatically, always - Arrears Clearance Rules: Clear arrears using FIFO (first-in, first-out) and pay interest after 30 days. Workers must never serve as involuntary creditors.
- Cash Release Calendar with Legal Force: Publish and enforce a monthly release schedule so payroll is predictable and not hostage to ad hoc MoF decisions.
- Government Overdraft, Not Salary Arrears: If cash is tight, allow temporary overdrafts at the Bank of Ghana. Protect salaries instead of pushing arrears onto workers.
- Real Accountability: Missed payroll deadlines must trigger surcharges, performance penalties, and public scorecards.
