Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu has clarified and set the record straight that salaries of staff of the Ministry and Ghana Health Service who worked on the Global Fund programme have not been delayed.
According to him the Programme staff normally submit salary request and when it is approved, it is then sent to the bank and staff accounts are credited.
For October salaries, the memo for salary request was submitted and payment approved on the 20th and 27 for National HIV/AIDS Control Programme and National Malaria and TB Control Programmes respectively.
And contracts of some staff were in local currency; however, payments are made in dollars using a dollar to cedi conversion rate of 3.5. When the cedi depreciated and a dollar to cedi conversion rate went to 1 dollar to 4.3 cedis, staff paid themselves using the new exchange rate which must be deducted.
From January to April, 2021 as shown the contracts had expired and staff had to be re-issued with new contracts. However, because they had received unearned salaries, they refused to be paid with the dollar to cedi conversion rate of 3.5 and agreed to wait until new agreement was made with Global Fund.
Member of Parliament for Keta Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey wanted to know the circumstances surrounding the delay in the payment of the salaries of Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health staffs who worked with the Global Fund programme.
Ghanamps.com