President John Dramani Mahama has announced a pay raise for members of the Ghana Armed Forces, effective March 2026.

The arrears for January and February will also be paid in March.

The President made the announcements in his address at the 2025 West African Soldiers’ Social Activity (WASA) at the Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces at Burma Camp in Accra.

WASA is an annual get-together for members of the security forces, allowing them to take time off from their busy schedules to interact and appreciate one another.

The President’s announcement was met with thunderous applause from the military at the event.

“I bring thee tidings of great joy, and it pleases me to announce that your new salary scales will start in March. I said tidings of great joy. You now understand what I mean. Your new salary scales will start in March, and the arrears for January and February will also be paid in March,” he said.

“Thank you very much. I knew you would receive that with great joy.”

The President said in 2020, the previous administration, just before the elections, introduced C.I. 129, which increased the length of service, resulting in significant increases in retirement and gratuity payments for retiring officers.

“It will interest you to know that over the four years following the year 2020, the previous administration made no budgetary allocation to operationalise the new gratuity levels.”

The President noted that this had led to a pile-up of arrears exceeding one billion Ghana cedis owed to about 3,000 personnel of different ranks.

He said he had asked the Minister of Finance to make a release for the 95-96 year groups for their outstanding arrears at their existing rates, while steps were taken to clear their outstanding arrears under C.I. 129.

President Mahama said, he had discussed with the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, in order to increase the internally generated funds of the Ghana Armed Forces, they were discussing with the Road Ministry and the Ministry of Finance so that the 48th Engineer Regiment and the Ghana Army could participate in the Government’s Big Push Infrastructure Projects that they were implementing across the country.

“We shall allocate some of the drip equipment that was imported under the last administration to the 48th Engineer Regiment so that you can also participate in road construction and earn money for the Armed Forces,” he said.

He commended the winners of the Chief of Defence Staff Prize essay competition and thanked the organisers, sponsors and partners who had made WASA 2025 such a big success.