Finance Minister Seth Terkper has indicated that government will no longer increase salaries of public sector workers automatically across board as being done now.
Government officials has largely blamed a ballooned wage bill as the cause of Ghana’s economic challenges following the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP).
With the public sector debt and a discomforting budget deficit, some advocated the curtailment of further payment of salaries using the Single Spine Pay Policy as the surest way of reversing Ghana’s economic woes.
A former minister of state at the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, had argued: “The current wage bill is unsustainable. We should defer further payment of the single spine salary and negotiations for retrenchment must begin now.”
There were rumours government had wanted to abolish the policy due to the threat it posed to the Ghanaian economy, but government officials have publicly denied that.
The policy which came into effect in January 2010 is aimed at motivating public service workers to improve service delivery and productivity.
In Parliament today, Minister of Finance Seth Terkper announced that as part of measures to curtail the rising wage bill, government is putting steps in place to ensure that salaries are increased based on performance.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission in collaboration with the Central Management Agencies is working out a national forum to provide a road map for an eventual rollout of the Public Service-Wide Performance Management, Monitoring and Evaluation System that would link public service pay to work and productivity, he told the house.
Mr. Seth Terkper said consultations among stakeholders would be held as well as public education on the system.
The system would be piloted in some selected public services prior to an eventual rollout in all public institutions, he said.
The Finance Minister underscored: “Once the system is finally rolled out, annual salary increments for public service employees shall no longer be automatic, but based on annual performance assessment.”
