Economist Nii Moi Thompson has said that productivity cannot be ignored if the issue of low pay is to be dealt with holistically. He was commenting on the numerous industrial disputes being recorded in the country. There are concerns that the public sector wage bill which expends some 60 percent of the national budget would be further spent if government would have to meet the demands for more pay. This, economists say could deprive other equally critical sectors of much needed capital injection. Dr. Nii Moi Thompson however told Joy Business the economy can absorb more pay for workers if they would produce more. He expressed concern that wage increases in the country are not tied to a corresponding increase in productivity. Dr. Thompson is also advocating a radical paradigm shift in monitoring performance in the country. “You look at the police also; how many police officers do you need to hold a speed gun to check speeding on the highway? In better managed societies, only one police officer. In Ghana you are likely to find between eight and 10 police officers clustered around a single speed gun.” As a result of this, he argued, there “is massive inefficiencies in the system,” warning that “until we make an effort to remove those things, public spending will become unsustainable and ultimately collapse and we are going to have chaos.” Source: Joy Business/Ghana