BY Desmond Okon
The government of Ghana has introduced a 15 percent base pay as cost of living allowance (COLA) for public workers to help residents cope with the country’s harsh economy.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, minister of information, Ghana, disclosed this in a tweet on Friday.
Base pay is the initial salary paid to an employee, not including any benefits or bonuses.
Nkrumah said the decision was reached after consultations with the country’s organised labour and other stakeholders.
According to him, the allowance took effect on July 1 — the same day Ghana sought the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its economic crisis.
“Government and organised Labour have concluded negotiations for Cost of Living Allowance. A 15 percent allowance has been agreed effective July 1. Government is keen on mitigating the impact of global challenges on the people of Ghana,” he said in a tweet.
According to a document seen by TheCable, the government agreed that COLA would be paid at a rate of 15 percent of the base pay of public workers after negotiations between the government and organised labour concluded on Thursday evening.
Ghana is one of the low-income nations currently being battered by the effects of Covid-19 and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Last month, Ghanaians thronged the streets of Accra in protests against skyrocketing energy costs and the newly imposed e-levy, which mandates them to pay a 1.5 percent tax for every electronic transaction they carry out.
Last week, President Nana Akufo-Addo asked Ken Ofori-Atta, finance minister, to commence formal engagements with IMF to secure support to address economic woes in the country.
“The engagement with the IMF will seek to provide a balance of payment support as part of a broader effort to quicken Ghana’s build back in the face of challenges induced by the Covid-19 pandemic and, recently, the Russia-Ukraine crises,” the statement had said.
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