The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has backtracked on its decision to withhold salaries of public sector workers who do not possess the Ghana Card.

Per the initial directive, workers on government payroll would have been denied their salaries by December 1 this year.

According to the Department, this move forms part of ongoing measures to harmonise its systems and synchronize its financial remuneration process through the card.

This policy was expected to ensure a speedy administration of the payroll.

“By this notice, all existing and prospective Government workers are to ensure they are registered with the NIA and have obtained their Identity numbers,” portions of CAGD’s October 12, statement read.

However, this December deadline has been removed, and the compulsion to secure the Ghana Card eased, according to reports.

It comes on the back of a meeting on Tuesday, October 19, between the Employment Ministry, Finance Ministry, Controller and Accountant General’s Department and organised labour.

In its latest measure, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) said it will rather transfer the names of public sector workers in their existing database onto the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.

In this process, the platform will identify all unregistered members of staff who are available to be factored into the new identification framework.

Meanwhile, government is currently embarking on a SIM card re-registration exercise using the Ghana Card as the only identification requirement.