Citi Business News has learnt the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) may kick against the imposition of e-zwich as a payment system on public servants across the country.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) last week warned, the department will suspend salaries of all public sector workers in Greater Accra, who fail to heed a May 31st 2016 deadline, directing them to register for electronic payment cards using the E-zwich.
However, sources at CLOGSAG have hinted to Citi Business News that the association may resist any attempt by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to impose the system on them.
According to them, the association has collaborated with the Controller and Accountant General to weed out some ghost names using the banks.
Citi Business News has learnt CLOGSAG wants the system to be made optional if even it is accepted.
Accountant-General refutes claims of infringing on rights
Meanwhile the Controller and Accountant General’s Department has refuted claims that its new directive ordering public sector workers to migrate unto the e-zwich payment platform is an infringement on their human rights.
The Department maintains the decision is in compliance with government’s quest to sanitize the public payroll system while it also seeks to promote a cashless economy.
Head of Public Relations at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, Robert Cudjoe tells Citi Business News they are working within the provisions of the law.
“This is not a matter of right; it is a government policy which has been discussed because it is going to help the nation. The NSS has been able to delete about 35,000 names from their payroll saving the nation a whopping 140 million cedis due to the e-zwich card. This is a policy that government wants to pursue because of the benefits that are over and above the normal system that is in place at the moment,” Robert Cudjoe stated.
GhIPPS defends efficiency of e-zwich cards
In a related development, the Chief Executive of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Archie Hesse has told Citi Business News the e-zwich solution to clear government payroll of ghost names will yield positive results.
“One of the one of the reasons why GhIPPS was set up was to use for payment for the Controller and Accountant General because of the features that it comes with. It is something that successive governments have piloted for some time,” the GhIPPS boss noted.
Archie Hesse has also been responding to concerns over the process adopted by the CAGD to source the contract to GhIPPS.
“Whether the CAGD went through a process before selecting it, I know there were a lot of operations but whether they’ve also been engaging with other entities, I cannot say anything about that,” he stated.
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By: Citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
