General News of Monday, 4 June 2012

Source: Daily Guide

Police Pensioners Cry For Back Pay

Retired police officers across the country have sneered at the Controller & Accountant-General’s (CAG) Department for failing to credit their accounts with an increment effected under the Single Spine Salary Scheme (SSSS) on their monthly entitlements since April 2011.

Some of the retirees, who stormed the offices of CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE in Accra, to register their irritation, said the development had gravely affected their ability to manage their homes since they were no more in active service.

“We don’t understand why government is meting such a treatment to us after all these years of hard work and dedication,” the disgruntled retirees emphasized.

According to some of them, their families depended on them for sustenance for which reason the delay in the payment was psychologically and economically affecting them.

They looked dejected as they made their grievances known.

One of the officials at the National Police Pensioners Association on condition of anonymity told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that “I feel the problem is with the government. But I think the government cannot be solely blamed too as the Controller & Accountant General’s Department, which we have been pursuing all these while to enquire about the situation, has also been shifting the blame to the Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning.”

“However, we are still pursuing it and we believe that the pension advice we have given our members, their completion of the pension form 1 and the recent biometric registration which was effected will help solve the puzzle since we have forwarded all these documents to CAG.”

This paper made numerous calls to the Pensioners Office at Kinbu to get further explanation regarding the non-payment of their monies.