SSPP not cause of Ghana's broke economy – John Boadu

A Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP),John Boadu, says the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) is not the cause of Ghana’s broke economy but rather government’s fiscal indiscipline.

According to him, the wanton dissipation of public funds and profligate spending by the Mahama-led administration is enough to cripple any economy in the world.

John Boadu was commenting on government’s claim that it spent GH¢4.3 billion this year on wages and salaries representing 70.1 percent of total revenue from domestic taxes.

Finance Minister, Seth Tekper disclosed this at the ongoing public forum at Ho, the Volta Regional capital, where there is a discussion on the sustainability of the Single Spine Pay Policy.

He re-echoed government's fears that the impact and the cost of the Single Spine alone could stall economic development.

But speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Tuesday, John Boadu said government should not attribute its inability to sustain the economy to the implementation of the SSPP.

He noted that the problems government is facing with the SSPP is self inflicted because it was a major campaign mantra for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The NPP man cited how the NDC in the run-up to the 2012 general elections trumpeted the implementation of the SSSS as a major achievement chalked by government and promised to migrate a lot more people on the scheme if retained in power.

"I wonder why government is complaining to us when it was voted to power to solve our problems. They made a lot of noise about single spine in 2012 so why are they complaining now".

He stated that the SSPP intended to ensure equity in salaries and also to remove salary distortions on the national payroll, is the best hence should not be scrapped.

John Boadu urged government to find cogent solution to rejuvenate Ghana’s ailing economy and quit the needless lamentations.