Forum calls on Finance Minister to suspend e-zwich programme
The Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Schemes, has called on the Minister of Finance to suspend the e-zwich Programme with immediate effect.
The forum, which comprises leadership of the public sector unions and associations has stated that E-zwich as mode of payment should not be made compulsory for public sector workers.
In a release issued by Isaac Bampoe Addo, Chairman of the Forum, in Accra on Friday and copied to the Ghana News Agency, he noted that public service workers have the right to voluntarily choose to belong to the E-Zwich Programme or otherwise.
It said most leadership of public sector unions have been bombarded with questions by their constituents on issues relating to the introduction of E-Zwich as conditionality for receiving pay within the public services after May 31.
Most of these officers were highly apprehensive of the sudden imposition of the“Ka Kai”E-Zwich Programme on them.
“While some showed concern, frustration and helplessness that their salaries are going to be reduced in a subtle manner, others exhibited outright anger at the outrageous publication by the Controller and Accountant General as directed by Ministry of Finance,” it stated.
The release said “Aware that the E-Zwich experiment started three years ago and has been posing immense problems without a possible solution in sight for public service workers who opted for it.
“The attempt at a unilateral imposition of the programme on workers within the public services is heartless and devoid of consideration of hardships being encountered by users of the E-Zwich card.”
It said knowing that most of the service centres for the E-Zwich are dysfunctional and the desire to link with other ATM service centers have not received total endorsement by the financial institutions, the attempt at imposition of the E-Zwich “Ka Kai” was untimely and without regard to the tenets of policy implementation.
It noted that the few workers that have currently “complied” with the E-Zwich scare had done so due to the “threat of losing their salaries” and not out of their own volition. T
“This, therefore, should not be deemed as sign of success for the programme by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department,” the release said.
It said, Ghana has gone far with its democratic process and such dictatorial policies should not be pursued to dent the image of the country.
It called on the Controller and Accountant General’s Department as directed by the Minister of Finance, not to delete any worker’s name from the pay-roll because the person has not submitted an E-zwich number and particulars.
The release said the forum concluded that effective end of May 2016, every worker in the public service would continue to receive his/her entire salary through the traditional banking system as has been the case all this while, whether they have registered with e-zwich or not.
It called on all workers to remain calm while the Forum brings the issue to finality.
Source: GNA