The Deputy Country Director for advocacy group SEND Ghana, Dr. Emmanuel Ayifah, says heads of State-Owned Enterprises should earn their salaries.
To him, they should not be paid simply by virtue of occupying such positions.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has confirmed that government has approved a 30% salary reduction for all Cabinet Ministers and heads of State-Owned Enterprises, effective April, 2022 till the year ends.
According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, revenue generated from these contributions would be deposited into the Consolidated Fund and forms part of expenditure cutting measures that will ensure the achievement of the fiscal deficit target of 7.4 per cent of GDP for 2022.
Dr. Ayifah noted that the pay cuts are in the right direction if government wants to cut down wastage in the system “considering the stress we are all under”. We are even seeing that some CEOs in these SOEs receive higher pay than the President. The worrying aspect is that aside from the salaries, they enjoy free accommodation, utilities, and entertainment allowances and at least get two cars for free. Cumulatively, this plus their pay will be over Ghc150,000 per month. Why should Ghana be suffering from debt and these people are being paid this much when they don’t do anything?” he queried.
Dr. Ayifah told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, “There are SOEs which make losses every year and I see no reason for us to keep paying them huge salaries when they are bringing in no returns but only debt. I think their salaries should be based on their performance. They should be given a set target to achieve and their salaries can be justified if they achieve them (targets).”