Ministers unpaid 9 months into Mahama’s government – Dr Rashid Pelpuo admits

Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, has revealed that nine months into President Mahama’s administration, ministers, including himself, have still not been paid.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, Wa Central MP said the delay was part of a broader problem with the government’s new payroll system.

He described it as a “system of renewal” aimed at avoiding future payment challenges.

“It’s the overall system of renewal so that you don’t run into a problem eventually that we are trying to solve,” he explained.

“It’s not about the fact that the money is not there right now, but it’s about the fact that you want to do it alongside all the others they are complaining about, so that we just have a completely addressed system.”

His comments come amid growing frustration from newly employed nurses and midwives who have been protesting over salary arrears.

On Thursday, the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives staged a protest in Accra to demand payment of salaries for nearly 7,000 health workers who say they have worked without pay for close to 10 months.

The group said they received official postings in December 2024 after financial clearance was granted. While about 6,500 of their colleagues were paid in April 2025, thousands remain unpaid despite repeated appeals.

Dr Pelpuo acknowledged the frustration but insisted the issue was systemic and affected multiple categories of public workers — including ministers.

“Yeah, there’s a problem,” he admitted. “And if we can resolve ours, and newly employed nurses and teachers cannot resolve theirs, then there’s a problem. So it has to be done holistically, so everybody can be paid.”

The Minister noted that MPs who are not ministers have been receiving their salaries because the parliamentary payroll system is independent and already fully functional.

“But those who are members of parliament and non-ministers, the parliamentary system has been taking care of them,” he said.

“The parliamentary system is okay, it’s properly done and operational.”

When asked whether other Article 71 office holders outside the executive arm had been paid, Dr Pelpuo said he could not confirm.

“No, I can’t tell,” he responded.

Dr Pelpuo emphasised that the government was not withholding payments because of a lack of funds but was reforming the system to ensure all categories of workers are treated equitably.

MyJoyOnline