Gov’t’s Payroll Is Full, 60% Of Revenue Is Spent On 650k Workers – Ken Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, has revealed that 60 per cent of Ghana’s revenue is spent on salaries and remuneration for workers on the government’s payroll.

He described this situation as unsustainable.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Friday October 15, he said the government is structuring its budget to focus on how to support the youth of this country create their own jobs.

This, he said, will reduce the over-reliance on government for jobs, a situation that will also ensure that the payroll is not overburdened.

Mr Ofori-Atta stated that it is the duty of the government to ensure stability of the currency and also a viable macro economic environment for private businesses to thrive.

This is being done by the government through programmes such as the Ghana CARES programme (Obaatan Pa), he said.

He told the gathering that “So, the future for you with regards to jobs is the most important thing  at this stage. We have gone through a period where  most people  look for jobs from government etc,.

“That payroll is full  because we are spending  some 60 per cent of our revenue  on remunerating  some 650,000  people and that is not sustainable.

“The question then really  is has UPSA trained you to be entrepreneurs, and your question will be where the financing is coming from. But you do, in you, have the skills set to be able to do what you have to do.

“Our responsibility as government is to create the environment and the macro stability , currency stability  and ensure that you have access to the relevant skills  and financing, this budget that we are going to be doing  is going to really focus  on the youth  and we will have a programme here, looking at the youth  and demands and how we can structure, in the next two or three years, the Ghana Obaatanpa Programme  to ensure that you become  your own bosses  and you become entrepreneurs .

“So there is a new world out there , it is not a factory that employs  ten people, but individuals like you  employ two or three of four five people  to create that energy for our country to transform.”

SOURCE: 3news