The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has said that it cannot withdraw its directive asking public sector employees who do not have the Ghana Card to acquire one by December 1, 2021 or forfeit their salaries.

There have been agitations by a section of government workers and their unions since the Department issued the directive on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 with some asking the CAGD to reconsider the directive and withdraw it completely or extend the deadline.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday, Mr Cephas Narh Dosso, the Head of Public Relations at CAGD, reaffirmed the Department's directive saying it is the best way to address challenges in its payroll system.

He explained that Section 8(4) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), mandated the CAGD to, among other functions, receive, disburse and provide secured custody for public funds.

He said as a Department, which deals with about 500,000 government workers, it is necessary that it puts in measures to ensure the integrity of the payroll at all times.

"We have a payroll with about five hundred thousand government employees nationwide and as a department, over the years, the CAGD have been instituting measures that will ensure the integrity of the payroll is maintained at all times," Mr Dosoo explained.

He rather urged the various public institutions and unions to educate and urge their members to acquire the cards before the deadline.

Mr Dosoo said, "we appreciate the concerns by our unions because they are our major stakeholders, however, what we will think we should be considering now is that, we need to urge our colleague workers to avail themselves and go through the registration process. For now, the deadline is not today and so the best thing to do is to avail ourselves.”

"When we get to the deadline we will review the data and I am sure the right decisions will be taken by the right authorities," he added.

The CAGD, in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 warned that government workers without Ghana cards would not be paid from December 1, 2021.

The move, it said, formed part of the Government’s efforts to deliver a speedy, secured, and verified payroll service to employees and pensioners while reducing the risk of undeserving payments or claims.