Dr. James Klutse Avedzi, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), believes that employees at the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) are more likely to engage in corrupt practices due to low pay.

He stated that a significant number of PPA staff receive low salaries, which he thinks makes them susceptible to bribery and corruption.

As an example, he mentioned a case where a lawyer working on contract for the Authority was paid GH¢4,000, but when the lawyer became a permanent staff member, the salary was reduced by half.

"What we have realized as the reason why the Procurement Authority is doing that is that the Head or the people there; most of them -(1); the salaries are nothing to write home about. They take home very meager salaries," he disclosed in a yet-to-be-aired interview on TV3 on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

He added, "There was an issue in the 2022 report, which we looked at; where a lawyer was employed or recruited as a legal person for the Authority. And this lawyer was being paid GH¢4,000 as his or her salary. Now, that was on contract, but when this lawyer was regularized, [went] through the Public Service Commission, and eventually given an appointment letter, the salary dropped to GH¢2,000."

Dr. Avedzi suggested that increasing the salaries of public workers would better equip them to combat corruption.

EAN/MA

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