The Government has announced plans to add the three other state security agencies, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Immigration Service and the Prisons Service to the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) by the end of August 2010. Currently, only Security Personnel from the Police Service are on the new pay policy, thought to be the cure to the many salary distortions in the nation’s public pay system. Since the take off of the Single Spine Pay Policy, Police personnel who were, hitherto, earning as low as 200 Ghana Cedis a month, now earn as much as 700 Ghana cedis. The quantum leap in the monthly incomes of personnel of the Police service has triggered one form of anger among personnel of the other security agencies, who thought Government was giving the peace officers preferential treatment. However, speaking to Citi News, Presidential Aide and Member of the Government’s Communications Team, Stan Dogbe, denied the charge, saying three other security agencies will join the new pay policy at the end of this month. “There is no preferential treatment; the overall objective of this policy is to restore equity and transparency in public service pay administration…It started with the police service because it had to go through some evaluation. I am happy to announce that following the commencement of the process with the Police Service, beginning August this year the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, the Prisons Service and staff of the National Commission for Civic Education are also getting onto the Single Spine effective this year and in September many more organizations will be getting onto the program". Ghana’s economy is expected not to grow beyond 6 percent this year. In view of this projection, there have been serious concerns that the economy may not be able to sustain the additional financial pressure being brought onto the public purse through the implementation of the SSSS. Mr. Dogbe told Citi News that such fears are unfounded. “The single Spine Policy as far as I know from government is very sustainable indeed looking at how prudent and effective our Minister for Finance is. If this policy was not sustainable you can be sure that he would have called for a postponement of the policy. This project is sustainable, it can be sustained and we are happy that our workers are going to be paid well”. Source: Citifmonline.com