Civil Servants In Spending Spree

... Blow ?300m in 2001 ... Water bill gulps ?65m ...?271m spent on meetings
Tension is mounting among the ranks of the Civil Servants Association of Ghana (CSA) over the spate of spending by the national executive.

Credible documents on The Chronicle desk show startling revelations of huge expenditures on a wide-range of items from members’ 1% monthly deductions from their salaries for the upkeep of the association. For instance, in 2001 alone, CSA’s expenditure ran into ?2.7billion exceeding its estimates of ?2.4 billion by ?300 million and even though ?12 million was estimated for printing and stationary for that year, actual expenditure was ?88 million.

Conferences and meetings were said to have cost ?271 million instead of the estimated ?194m, water bills sucked ?65 million while the Accra offices were fumigated at the cost of ?35 million, legal fees ?44 million and documentation ?60 million.

Another source of great worry to the contributors was the use of ?120 million on office facilities and another ?63 million on office equipment. They also do not understand why national celebrations should cost the association ?47 million instead of the humble ?8 million in the estimates; and how ?50 million could be spent on the commissioning of completed buildings.

Far more staggering were the 2002 projections in which ?3.3 billion was earmarked to run the association. Going by the overspending culture of CSA, it is feared actual figures would hit the roofs

. Training programmes. Sanitation and Fumigation, and Mobile Phone bills were meant for the central administration alone with nothing for the regions. The three would gulp ?70m. And out of the over ?1.2billion voted for investment purposes 95% of it was concentrated in the central administration; with only 0.4% reserved for each of the ten regions.

No doubt a place like Ho, the Volta regional capital is simmering with rage at a new idea being mooted to squeeze another ?10,000 monthly flat fee from every member to sustain a Mutual Health Insurance Scheme. Members are daring their executive to test their pulse by going ahead with the plan.

At a meeting organized on Wednesday July 25, at the Church of Pentecost they argued that taking their numerical strength into consideration CSA makes ?6 billion per annum; and suggested that 0.5% of that amount should be channeled to health-related purposes.

They also contended that government’s yearly Medicare Refund of ?400m should be used as seed money for the insurance scheme. When the matter was put to vote 250 members said they would not make any further contributions, while only 34 indicated their preparedness to dole out more cash.

Less than 24 hours after the meeting, the regional executive, in an apparent bid to “show where power lies” decided to drop a sledgehammer on the “recalcitrant members”. A letter dated June 26, and signed by the secretary, Mr. S. K. Adega, directed the cessation of a free medical pilot programme they had been enjoying.

“Consequent to a meeting held on Wednesday July 25, 2003 and the way civil servants understand the mutual health insurance scheme being introduced, the regional executive has no option than to suspend the pilot programme with immediate effect”, the letter stated. It stated further that all members in Ho should reverse to the old system of cash and carry.

When the Chronicle contacted the regional office, Mr. Adega confirmed that such an action had been taken based on the attitude of members in Ho. He however declined to comment on the level of expenditure at the national level.

Mr. Adega explained that the project was a pilot one meant as a golden opportunity for members to access good medical care, but they rather abused the chance.

He said out of ?350 million medicare refund government gave the region last year bills from the regional hospital alone was ?139 million while the district hospital and polyclinic claimed ?98 million and ?29 million respectively; leaving very little in the coffers.

He denied that CSA makes ?6 billion a year. “It is untrue. Our membership continues to fall each year; especially with the moving away of nurses and other Para-medical staff from the association,” he said.

Chronicle could not reach the national secretary, Mr. Smart Chigabatia, could not be reached for hsi comments but the paper learnt that a national conference is slated this week for Kumasi, at which the grumblings of members and other concerns are will top the agenda.

An aggrieved civil servant summed it all on behalf of his colleagues when he told this reporter: “If it were government that spent so much, the civil servants would have cried wolf and taken to the streets; but now look at us”.