Reliable information available to The Independent indicates that President John Mahama has not remunerated his ministers and their deputies for some months now. Unlike civil servants, the state officials are just counting the anomaly as a sacrifice for the nation. Government officials who were contacted by The Independent for confirmation could not deny or confirm the story for the obvious reason – fear of being sacked. However, several ministers of state have confirmed to The Independent that they had not received their salaries since May 2013 (at the time of going to press). "Payment of salaries had delayed because the pay system was being streamlined to ensure biometric migration," one of the ministers told this paper in an interview in Accra yesterday. The minister continued: "I cannot confirm or deny whether or not my colleague ministers who were appointed earlier than me had been paid." The unfortunate development has, however, sparked fears in some quarters that the ministers could look for other unorthodox means to keep soul and body together, since some of them are cash-strapped. Since the ministers have been negotiating huge millions of dollars on behalf of the state, they could be compelled to cut corners, thereby inflating contract sums. The Independent has also gathered that many heads of state institutions have also not been paid for some time now. As at now, most of them are uncertain as to when they will be paid. There have been reports that the national purse is virtually empty causing government to widen the tax net to get some cash to continue its agenda for the nation including remuneration of the flanks men and women of the President.