The Ministry of Information has justified the payment of over 150 thousand Ghana cedis to some staff who worked during the Covid-19 lockdown.

This follows concerns raised by the Auditor-General in his Covid-19 transactions report for the period March 2020 to June 2022, questioning the basis for such a remuneration.

The AG, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, subsequently directed that the Information Ministry refunds the ¢151,500 paid to its own management and staff without approval.

• Read also: Information Ministry paid itself ¢151k as Covid-19 allowance for working during lockdown – Auditor-General

"During our review, we noted that senior management staff and other supporting staff of the Ministry of Information paid themselves a total amount of GH¢151,500.00 as COVID-19 risk allowance for coming to work during the lockdown," the report stated.

But the Director of Finance and Monitoring at the Ministry of Information, Mawuli Segbefia, says the money was meant to motivate staff.

According to him, "the allowances were part of the plan that was submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval".

"You will recall that during that time when the country was locked up, most officers of MDAs were required to stay at home but the Ministry of Information was required to report to work every day as part of response to the Covid fight. So we needed to motivate those staff who came daily to the office to help develop the Covid-19 response plan for publication."