Finance Minister Seth Tekper says government is well aware of the implications of a huge public sector wage bill on the economy and is already taking steps to manage it.

There have been calls from institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for government to cut down on public sector wages which accounts for a huge chunk of government’s budget.

Speaking Tuesday, October 7 on the Super Morning Show, Finance Minister, Seth Terkper said government has already started taking pragmatic steps, including eliminating ghost names from the public sector payroll.

“With discussions with labour, we did a Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA) last year, we didn’t do a regular salary increase and that’s also in recognition of the fact that the wage bill for the public sector in particular is an issue…We are removing them to make sure that we have a slim wage bill”.

The Finance Minister said government has also ensured that all public sector workers are paid parallel to the single pay policy also known as the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

“Managing a payroll is very important; it is just one example of what we are discussing with the IMF…these are things that we discussed in our home-grown policy,” Mr. Terkper emphasised.