Don’t complain about public sector wage bill - IMANI

IMANI Ghana, governance think tank, is on the warpath over government's recent outcry over the increasing public sector wage bill.

President Mahama on Thursday revealed that some 60% of the nation’s revenue is used to pay public sector workers which has led to a drain on the country's finances.

But IMANI President Franklyn Cudjoe told Citi News the government cannot be seen to be complaining about the wage bill after it used the Single Spine Salary Structure as a campaign tool in the just-ended general elections.

“How could an issue such as quadrupling public sector wage bill transform itself from being an electoral blessing to a financial threat just three months after an election; I ask myself so what type of people are we becoming.”

Mr. Cudjoe also added “the fact of the matter is that you don’t quadruple wage within a short time and then hope that all of the sudden productivity will come to your door".

“The whole single spine idea is not progressive and scientific.”

But Communication Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, who was speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, insisted the current challenges with the Single Spine Salary Structure stems from poor consultation upon its introduction.

“The work that was done by the consultants who developed the single spine concept was not water-tight," he said.