There is need to reduce wage bill
One of the major announcements made at the opening of the National Economic Forum at Senchi, near Akosombo, last Tuesday was that by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, that the government intended to trim the wage bill to 35 per cent of tax revenue.
Among other measures which the minister said were to be presented to discussants at the forum for consideration was a proposal for the restructuring of the District Assemblies Common Fund and other statutory public funds to align them to the national budget.
The difficulties the nation went through in 2013, which are still manifest in the management of the economy, make it imperative for stringent measures to be adopted to rescue the economy from its current predicament.
The cedi has slumped in recent times against major trading currencies, at the same time that prices of our major export commodities have been nothing to write home about.
The shortfall in revenue and grants, coupled with higher spending on wages and salaries, means that the government is left with very little to fund its development projects.
This is why the Daily Graphic is of the view that serious efforts ought to be made to reduce government expenditure on wages.
There is no doubt that the public service is oversized. Apart from too many people engaged in tasks that can conveniently be performed by a relatively smaller workforce, the issue of fraudulently inserting names of ‘ghosts’ on payrolls has been contentious for successive governments.
We welcome payroll management measures, such as frequent audits and the electronic system payment voucher, to reduce ‘ghost’ workers and equip managers with timely information for the efficient management of the government purse.
With current spending on wages said to be about 70 per cent of tax revenue, the need to take steps to reduce the wage bill to about 35 per cent must be supported by all, since it will enable the state to save funds for some more facilities for the benefit of many Ghanaians.
While it is necessary to reduce the wage bill, care must be taken to ensure that any exercise carried out will not be to the detriment of the ordinary worker.
History has shown us that most of the time schemes to reduce the public sector bill have dire consequences for lower income earners, while middle and high income earners, as well as Article 71 office holders, barely feel the effect.
Not too long ago, President John Mahama announced the decision that he and his executive were to cut their salaries by 10 per cent to support healthcare delivery, especially in rural communities.
We are yet to know how much has been accrued and what has been done with the money.
The disclosure will serve as a good example to all public sector employees to get ready to tighten their belts.
It will also send the signal that in tough times, top politicians especially would be ready to make sacrifices for the good of the man on the street.
Soon others in the service of the country as paid workers would also agree to make sacrifices. That way, public sector workers would be cautious when making certain demands.
With time the whole nation would come to understand that public-sector wage management needs the support of all stakeholders.
