Government to introduce biometric attendance record
Ministries and other government institutions would soon be required to implement a biometric attendance record as a tool to undertake a productivity survey to benchmark productivity against salaries and pay in the public sector.
The attendance record, which would be implemented and monitored by the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, is expected to boost productivity, a major challenge currently bedeviling both the public and private sector.
Mr Moses Asaga, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, said this at the end of the 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) organized by the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) on Thursday in Accra.
It was with the theme: “Democratic Governance and Enterprise Development in Ghana-Achievements, Challenges and Prospects.”
Mr Asaga said the productivity of the Ministries would be measured by how far or near they achieved their targets.
He expressed dissatisfaction that head count was the only method currently employed to take statistics of employees, adding that the situation made it difficult to take stock of the unemployed.
Mr Asaga said the government was committed to providing enabling environment for private sector initiative and development.
“It is against this backdrop that…President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated the Private Sector Advisory Council to among other things ensure that the private sector lives up to the expectation of becoming the engine of growth in the economy”, he said.
Mr Asaga called on executives of the GEA to look into complaints made by some employees working in safety and health-threatening conditions and to solve the difficult situation some workers found themselves in.
Mr Terrence Ronald Darko, the newly elected President of the GEA, appealed to the government to turn its attention to the activities of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to enable the authority effectively and efficiently carry out its mandate.
“This will require a thorough overhaul of the governance structures of the NPRA management and human resource capacity audit, financial and technical resources to ensure that it is able to carry out its duties”, he said.
“The repercussions of a poorly managed pensions scheme will have untold consequences for pensioners in the twilight of their lives and GEA therefore calls on the government, Organised Labour and Civil Society Groups to turn attention to the pensions administration in Ghana,” he said
On productivity, Mr Darko called for integration of skill development as a part of a broader development strategy
Mr Darko said “human talent is the single most important productive factor in today’s economy”, adding that focusing on the development of a skilled workforce and the expansion of human capabilities through high quality education, training and lifelong learning was important for helping workers to find good jobs and enterprises to find the skilled workers they need.
Source: GNA