Government says July salaries will delay if...

Accra, July 9, GNA- Government on Wednesday said this month's salary releases might delay if it was unable to resolve the numerous problems that had plagued the Ministry of Education's payroll budget.

Mr. Eugene A Ofosuhene, Deputy Controller and Accountant General, said: "Until we meet with the Minister of Education to resolve the MOE's payroll budget situation, which has currently derailed the entire payroll structure in the country, salary releases will not come. "The problem at MOE is so huge that there appears to be some concealing of names so they are unable to provide us with realistic figures for their budget."

Mr Ofosuhene noted that the Ministry of Defence would be an exception since their salaries were paid fortnightly.

He was delivering a lecture at this year's Public Accountancy Week on the topic "An Overview of the New Business Oriented Cash Management System in the Public Sector".

It is being organized by the Institute of Accountancy Training under the theme "The Public Sector in the Golden Age of Business". He said the MOE right from the beginning of this year exceeded its budget targets, which compelled government to provide additional funds in order to offset the imbalance.

This, according to Mr Ofosuhene, could be as a result of the large chunk of teachers who joined the service before this year's budget was approved.

He announced that next week has been chosen to meet the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports together with heads of departments to address the issue.