Gov't Will Sanction Heads Of Institutions -VP

Supervising heads public sector institutions that performed poorly are to be sanctioned. Heads of successful ones will also be rewarded.

According to Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama the sanctions will include "suspension of annual increments, withholding of salaries, suspensions and termination of appointment."

The Vice President, who is the Chairman of the National Overview Committee of the Public Sector Management Reform Programme, was speaking at a performance contract signing ceremony between the government, the National Institutional Renewal Programme and representatives of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Institute and Industrial Service (GRATIS) and the Ghana Universities Press.

Alhaji Mahama noted that an independent evaluation of the restructured organizations would be conducted annually.

"The government is giving recognition to the Public Service because our economic programme for jobs, economic security and empowerment can only be achieved with significant policy and implementation inputs from the public sector," he said.

The institutions that signed the contracts are the first batch of eleven (11) Central government institutions and 50 sub-vented institutions, undergoing restructuring.

The restructuring includes their service structure, human resources and financial systems to improve their efficiency and make some of them independent of government subvention.

The Vice President announced that work on the implementation of a new regulatory framework for the public sector would soon start, with the implementation of new rules and regulations to guide its functions in terms of governance relationships, accountability; discipline and performance management.

He commended the managements and the boards of GIMPA, GRATIS and the Universities Press for their co-operation and dedication to the restructuring process and urged them to serve as models for others.

GIMPA became self-financing last month, while the two are expected to be self-financing by the end of the year.