Accountant General to suspend salaries of public servants without e-zwich cards

Public servants within the Greater Accra region, risk having their salaries suspended if they fail to meet a May 31 deadline, directing all public servants to obtain e-zwich cards to facilitate payment of salaries.

A statement issued by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) cautioned, “We further remind employees that the deadline for registration of the e-zwich is indicated above… the CAGD will suspend the salaries of employees who do not register for the e-zwich cards by the deadline.”

The move also forms part of measures to improve control over the management of public sector payroll.

The National Service Scheme (NSS) on Tuesday, announced that a total of 35,000 ghost names have been deleted from the Scheme’s payroll.

According to the Executive Director of the Scheme, Dr. Kpessah Whyte, one of the interventions being implemented by his outfit to check the payroll, is the use of E-zwich cards by service personnel under the regulation of the Inter-Bank payment and Settlement systems (GhIPSS).

“We changed the system of payment because of too many human interference …We introduced the GhIPSS to eliminate human interference and make sure that payments are made straight from the Central Bank to the personnel.” He stated.

According to him, the NSS had also eliminated individuals and agencies, who acted as middle men between the NSS and service personnel.

The Ministry of Finance has directed the Controller and Accountant General (CAG) to use the e-zwich biometric system to validate salaries of employees on the mechanised payroll before payment with effect from November 2015.

The statement issued by the CAGD further asked all employees on the mechanized payroll to register for e-zwich through the banks where they currently received their salaries.

By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana