About 2,000 Ghanaian public servants’ salaries withheld following the closure of 23 savings and loans companies

About 2000 Ghanaian public servants’ salaries have been withheld by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
The move will ensure that salaries of these public servants do not get locked up after their banks collapsed.
Affected workers are hence advised to open fresh accounts with other banks.

The move according to the CAGDis to ensure that the salaries of these public servants do not get locked up after their banks collapsed.

The department has hence asked them (public servants) to open fresh accounts with banks of their choice, so they can receive their salaries.

The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr K. K. Bosompem made the revelation while speaking to Accra based Daily Graphic.

It is estimated that 1,975 public servants on the government payroll accessed their salaries through the GN Bank, First Allied Savings and Loans Co Ltd and Women’s World Banking Savings and Loans Co. Ltd which were among the 23 financial institutions that were closed down by the Bank of Ghana on August 16.

GN Savings and Loans Ltd holds the accounts of 1,950 public servants while First Allied Savings and Loans Co. Ltd and Women’s World Banking Savings and Loans Co. Ltd hold the accounts of five and 20 public servants respectively.

Mr Bosompem said his outfit was holding the August 2019 salaries of the affected workers until the new accounts were submitted as advised.

He then advised that affected workers as that the workers furnish the department with their new account numbers as soon as possible to facilitate the payment of their salaries.

“Subsequent to the revocation of the licences of some savings and loans companies and finance house holdings by the Bank of Ghana, through which some public servants are paid, our department advised affected employees to open new bank accounts with the bank of their choice and submit the new account details to their respective MDAs for capture,” he said.

Adding that “The MDAs would, in turn, submit the new account information received from the affected staff to the Payroll Processing Division of the CAGD for loading onto the payroll system to enable the employees to access their accounts.

“Again, we are urging all third-party institutions affected by the BoG measures also to submit their new bank details to the CAGD for the payment of deductions held on their behalf by the department,” Mr Bosompem said.

The CAGD apologised for any inconvenience the new directive might cause but indicated it was meant to safeguard the income of affected employees, adding that, a circular would be sent to all MDAs and heads of departments to take the necessary steps to ensure the affected workers were paid on time.