By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, May 30, GNA – The Vice President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has given assurance to Organised Labour of his administration’s preparedness to review the public sector pay structure to ensure equity and fairness.
He said his administration would work collaboratively with Organised Labour to review the public sector salary administration to resolve the wide salary differentiation.
Dr Bawumia also agreed with the Organised Labour to restructure the governance structure of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to ensure that the contributors to the Scheme had a major stake in determining the use of its funds.
Dr Bawumia was responding to some questions from Dr Isaac Bampoe-Addo, the Chairman of the Forum, comprising Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Judiciary Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and other Organised Labour Unions.
The Forum constituted about 90 per cent of the public sector workers.
Dr Bampoe-Addo enquired from Dr Bawumia’s plans in dealing with multiple public sector salary administrations, which had created discrepancies in salaries of public sector workers and the White Paper issued on restructuring of SSNIT governance structure.
Earlier, the NPP Flagbearer outlined some of the innovative policies his government would implement should he given the mandate to govern the nation in the 2024 Elections.
Dr Bawumia stated that his government would use digital systems to fight against corruption, and cited instances where the use of GhanaCard had aided in getting rid of ‘ghost workers’ on the payrolls of the National Service Scheme and Pensioners, thus saving the nation GHc700 million annually.
He also intended to re-align government expenditure by bringing in the private sector to provide some public services and infrastructure.
That, he believed, would create a fiscal space for the government to improve the conditions of service for Ghanaians.
He stated that three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) constituting about GHc30 billion government’s expenditure annually would be borne by the private sector to help ease the burden on government.
To that end, Dr Bawumia said, the private sector would provide upfront funding for public infrastructure such as hospitals, roads, hostels, classroom blocks and school buses while government pays the money in bits over a long period.
Dr Bawumia cited instances where some government’s digitalisation programmes such as the Digital Property Addressing System, National Identification System (GhanaCard), Paperless Ports and Electronic Passport Office applications were private-sector led.
On fiscal discipline, the NPP Flagbearer said his government would ensure that the Fiscal Responsibility Council operated independently and had oversight over the Ministry of Finance.
Also, the government’s expenditure would not exceed 105 per cent of the previous year’s tax revenue.
Dr Bawumia reiterated his plans to implement a flat tax rate in the country after granting tax amnesty to businesses and individuals in 2025.
The NPP Flagbearer repeated his plans to undertake large-scale mechanised agriculture through irrigation, roll-out of 2,000 megawatts of solar power within four years of his administration and bring in electric buses to supplement public transport system.
Dr Bawumia re-affirmed his commitment not to appoint more than 50 Ministers under his administration.
Accompanying the NPP Flagbearer were Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Chairman of the NPP Manifesto Committee, Mr Joseph Cudjoe, Minister of Public Enterprises and Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.
GNA