The Controller and Accountant General’s Department explains mechanized payroll policy

The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has noted with concern some misconceptions about the procedure for processing of salaries on the mechanized payroll.

In a press release issued in Accra, the CAGD explained that, the initial guidelines for the information of heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s), Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDA’s), employees and the general public must be followed.

Salary payment is a process, which is initiated at the MDA’s/MMDA’s where the employees work, before the documents are forwarded to the Personnel Processing Sections (or IPP offices) of the respective MDA’s Headquarters, where data on an employee is captured online onto the mechanized payroll.

The CAGD said it was only when MDA/MMDAs determine the employees to be placed on the payroll and their salary details that placement of labour could be made.

The CAGD processes the salaries of employees based on the information supplied onto the mechanized payroll.

Before every payroll can be finalized, CAGD runs a test payroll and send to heads of Management Units electronically through the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (E-SPV) system to validate and certify the staff to be paid for a particular month.

The CAGD uses only the validated information from E-SPV system to run the payroll for the month.

The objective of issuing these guidelines is to provide better understanding of payroll processes to inform public discussion on the subject matter.

1. Procedure to follow and documentations required in processing the salaries of newly employed workers are as follows:
2. MDAs should obtain financial Clearance from the Ministry of Finance before recruitment. The financial clearance and appointment letters, together with other relevant documents are sent to the Personnel Processing Sections (or IPPD offices), which are located at the Headquarters of supervising Ministries. The PPS enters the personnel data of the employees onto the payroll system.
3. After the employees’ information is captured onto the payroll system, staffs IDs are automatically generated for each employee. Employees obtain an introductory letter from their heads of departments and attach their staff IDs and other relevant documents to the Ministry of Finance for Biometric Registration.
4. On monthly basis, the Ministry of Finance forwards, online, to the CAGD the biometric data of employees they have captured for the final processing and payment of the salaries.

Please note that without completing the above processes, the CAGD will be unable to process the salary for new employees.

2. Processing of promotions and upgrading of employees.

Procedures to follow and documentations required in processing promotions or upgrading of employees are as follows:

1. MDA s should forward the promotion on upgrading letters together with relevant documents to their PPSs (or IPPD offices) located at the Headquarters of their supervising Ministries. The PPSs enter the promotion or upgrading information of the employees onto the payroll system and send copies of all the documents to the CAGD. The CAGD validates the promotion or upgrading information on the payroll system before final processing and payment.

3. Validation through the E-SPV

The CAGD every month forwards the test payroll electronically (through the E-SPV system) to head of management units to validate and certify the staff to be paid for a particular month.

1. Heads of management units are given 48 hours to complete the validation process and send feedback to the CAGD for the payroll run
2. If a head of management unit does not validate the payroll after 48 hours period the names of employees under that management units would not be included in the payroll for the month and therefore would not be paid for that month.
3. Staff can only be paid after the heads of management units validate their names on the payment vouchers through the E-SPV system.
4. The E-SPV system is currently operational in 6 regions, namely Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions.
5. The roll out of the E-SPV system to all regions in the country is expected to be completed by the end of September, 2015 the statement said.
6. Payment of salary arrears

Policies regarding the payment of salary arrears for promotions, new entrants, and reactivation are to limit the initial payment to 3 months. Salary arrears beyond three months are paid by the CAGD only after auditing by the Auditor General.

The CAGD said employees should contact their Human Resource officers and complete the salary arrears application forms and forward to the Ministry of Finance through their supervising Ministries.

The CAGD hopes that these guidelines will guide heads of MDAs/MMDAs, employees and the general public regarding the procedures for the payment of salaries.

Source: GNA