The training of Heads of Management Units and Deployment of the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV) took off in the Eastern Region from 2nd November, 2015 and would run through to the last week of the month.
Given his address as a special guest during the opening ceremony at Oyoko Senior High School Assembly Hall in Koforidua, in the New Juabeng Municipality of the Eastern Region, the Regional Minister whose speech was read on his behalf by the Regional Coordinating Director, Mr. R. K. Sambo reminded the participants to recognize the fact that, the training is a national exercise and must therefore see it as such and give it the seriousness it deserves.
The Minister also entreated them to be attentive and get every little detail of the training sessions, adding that they should ensure, they get to know all the processes and procedures required for them to be able to validate the salaries of staff under their management units during the validation period. He tasked all the validators who were undergoing the training to take stringent actions to ensure the ESPV validation work without fear or favour.
The chairperson for the occasion, Madam Rosetta Addison Sackey, the Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Education Service (GES), who had long been associated with the ESPV system, expressed her gratitude for the invitation and spoke about the challenges involved in the previous manual system of salary payment voucher which necessitated the introduction of the mechanized system we have currently. She highlighted some of the benefits of the new system and stated that, it helps solve the issue of delay in retuning the payment vouchers to CAGD after monthly payment of salaries of workers. It also, she said, eliminates the challenges faced in delivering the printed SPV throughout the country.
Madam Rosetta Addison Sackey disclosed that, the new system will most importantly help avoid favoritism, nepotism, eliminate absenteeism, and ensure that persons who are either dead, retired, on study leave without pay, those on medical grounds, etc. are deleted quickly from the government’s payroll. She tasked all trainees to ensure that, the ESPV roll-out is done effectively in the Region and asked for collaboration from all to ensure its success.
Mr. Isaac K. Asare, the Eastern Regional Director of CAGD who gave the welcome address said, the training and roll-out of ESPV in the region was long overdue, as it had been postponed several times till now. He, therefore, expressed his happiness that, the programme had taken place at long last.
The Regional Director of CAGD entreated all the trainees to be attentive during the two day period and follow all the steps, processes and procedures to validation keenly, to enable the new system work effectively to help solve the payroll problems.
Given the keynote address, Mr. George K. Baah, Director and Head of Payroll at CAGD Head office took participants through the various reforms and interventions carried out over the years to get to where we are as far as payment of government’s salaried workers by CAGD is concerned. He also briefed them on some of the benefits of the new system, and the consequences of a validator not certifying the SPV in a particular month after the 48 hour period given for the validation exercise.
Mr. Baah disclosed that, so far eight regions have had the training and that validators are using the new system to examine and certify staff SPV. He noted that, the last region left to be deployed is Volta. The training in the Eastern region, he said would cover all the 26 districts.
He assured that, barring any hitches, SPV for government employees in the region who are paid by CAGD will be validated and payment effected in the month of December using the ESPV system. He said, he was confident, when it begins, the validators would do a good job, but was quick to add that, should anyone faces any difficulties, they should not hesitate to call on either the Eastern Regional office of CAGD or the Treasury Head office in Accra for assistance.
Mr. Richard Aidoo, the ESPV Project Coordinator took the participants through the initial presentation. He touched on the Objectives, Legal Environment, Some Definitions, the Manual System, Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (E-SPV), Understanding the 10 Simple Steps to E-SPV Validation Process and Connectivity, Sanctions & Security.
By Robert Cudjoe
Head, PR Directorate-CAGD Head Office
