A five-day training exercise and a sensitization workshop for all heads of MDAs and MMDAs in the Eastern Region has been opened at Oyoko, Koforidua in the Eastern Region from the October 15 to 19, 2018 to sensitize and retrain validators across the region.
In an address delivered by Mr. Kwaning Bosompem Deputy Controller and Accountant General in charge of Payroll Management, the Controller and Accountant General, Mr. Eugene Asante Ofosuhene said, a critical aspect of the PFM reforms is improved Payroll System. “In line with the mission of CAGD, we have been working hard and progressively employing ICT tools in improving service delivery”, he underlined.
He emphasized that, notable policies are the introduction of the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV), E-Payslip System, Third Party Referencing System (TPRS) and Budgetary control of Payroll cost.
The Controller disclosed that Payroll cost has always been a concern to the government and thus the quest to bring the cost down is a collective responsibility; all efforts must be geared towards enhancing the credibility of the government payroll.
ESPV
The ESPV was introduced against the backdrop of concerns regarding the high wage bill of public servants and the commitment of the government to have a robust payroll system. This will ensure effective and efficient management of the payroll cost by eliminating unauthorized payments.
The Payroll Management division of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance in the last few years has introduced a number of Public Financial Management Reform Programmes aimed at establishing improved systems for the effective and efficient management of public funds to support government’s objectives of delivering quality services to the citizenry.
E-Payslip system
In 2013, the E-Payslip system was developed by CAGD to facilitate online access to pay slips by employees who are paid through the mechanized payroll system.
Management Units Heads setup on the ESPV system are entreated to generate codes to all employees in their units for the E-Payslip registration. The system also allows employees to provide feedback on issues to CAGD.
Additionally, CAGD in collaboration with Ministry of Finance is exercising budgetary control of pay roll cost to ensure that all MDAs operate within their approved compensation budget.
By this directive, CAGD is to ensure that MDAs do not exceed their compensation budget. A burden is therefore placed on Heads of Management Units to receive all unknown names from their payroll.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Bosompem reiterated that, all Heads of Departments are to take ownership of their payrolls (using the system) and take steps to validate the payroll every month in line with Regulation 297 of the Financial Administration Regulation, 2004 (LI1802) which implies “no validation, no pay”.
The programme was attended by the Regional Cordinating Director Mr. R. A. Sarfo, Regional Director of Education Mrs. Monica Ankrah, Regional Director for the Controller and Accountant’s General Department (Eastern Region) Mr. Samuel Ayim-Antwi, Director of Payroll of the CAGD Mrs Elizabeth Osei, The Deputy Controller and Accountant General in charge of Payroll Management Mr. Kwaning Bosompem.
