The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has announced significant savings of nearly GH₵345 million following the first phase of its nationwide payroll monitoring exercise.

0

The initiative, which spanned 120 public sector institutions across four regions, was designed to curb unnecessary expenditure on the public wage bill while promoting transparency within the public sector.

1

Speaking on JoyNews, the Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, Benjamin Arthur, revealed the impressive financial gains achieved through the monitoring efforts.

2

“Last year, we made a lot of savings—345 million cedis from the monitoring exercise,” Arthur disclosed.

3

Beyond the financial benefits, Arthur highlighted how the exercise contributed to improving productivity within the public sector.

4

“But it has other benefits on improving productivity. We go out to collect comprehensive information. We go out on the field to do some monitoring; we also monitor the payrolls,” he explained.

5

He further noted that the commission's analysis suggested potential for even greater savings moving forward.

6

“About 8% of what we pay in the public sector can be saved, and when we started doing the payroll monitoring, the analysis showed that for 2023 and 2024,” he added.

7

Arthur also pointed out that the exercise uncovered valuable lessons and exposed irregularities within the system.

8

“Going forward, the payroll monitoring has taught us a lot. Of course, we also saw some anomalies of people who were entitled to some allowance who were not receiving,” he stated.

9

The FWSC is expected to continue the monitoring exercise in the coming months, aiming to boost efficiency and accountability in Ghana's public sector payroll system.

10