‘no Ghana card, no salary’ directive – Controller Accountant General Insist

The Controller and Accountant-Department General’s (CAGD) has stated that it will not reverse its mandate requiring public employees to obtain a national identification card by December 1, 2021, or face losing their jobs. Since the Department announced the directive on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, a segment of government workers and unions have been protesting, with others requesting the Controller and Accountant-General to review the directive, revoke it entirely, or extend the deadline.

Mr Cephas Narh Dosso, the Head of Public Relations at CADG, confirmed the Department’s decision in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday, saying it was the best method to address difficulties in the government’s payroll system.

He explained that the CAGD was mandated by Section 8(4) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), among other things, to accept, disburse, and secure public monies.

He explained that as a department that interacts with roughly 500,000 government employees, it was vital to put in place safeguards to maintain the payroll’s integrity at all times.

“We have a payroll that covers around 500,000 federal employees across the country.” Over the years, the CAGD has put in place mechanisms to ensure that the payroll’s integrity is maintained at all times,” Mr Dosoo added.

He instead urged various government agencies and labor organizations to educate their members about the importance of getting the cards before the deadline.

“We acknowledge our unions’ worries because they are our primary stakeholders,” Me Dosoo added, “but what we will say is that…we need to urge our colleague workers to take advantage of the registration procedure.” For the time being, the deadline is not today, therefore the best thing we can do is take advantage of the situation.”

He added that “When we get to the deadline we will review the data, and I am sure the right decisions will be taken by the right authorities,”

Press Release

Government employees without Ghana Cards will not be paid starting December 1, 2021, according to a statement released by the CAGD on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.

The move, it claimed, was part of the government’s attempts to provide employees and pensioners with a quick, secure, and verified payroll service while lowering the possibility of undeserved payments or claims.

Early this month, the National Identification Authority said that more than 15 million persons have registered for the Ghana Card.

However, only 12 million cards were issued out of the total number. The NIA also stated that arrangements are being made for the three million Ghanaians who have yet to acquire their identification cards to receive them.

Source: Ghana News Agency