Ghana’s public sector payroll system faces mounting criticism as thousands of healthcare workers and teachers continue working without pay, prompting a detailed reform proposal from accounting and law scholar Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare.
More than 6,500 newly recruited nurses and midwives haven’t received salaries for nearly ten months, while over 200 junior doctors have been working between 10 and 14 months without compensation. The crisis has sparked protests and threatened nationwide strikes across Ghana’s healthcare system.
Professor Asare, widely known as Kwaku Azar and recognized as a public intellectual who teaches accounting at the Fisher School of Accounting in the United States, has reportedly outlined a comprehensive blueprint to restore accountability to the system. His proposals center on preventing workers from becoming what he describes as involuntary creditors to the state.
The reform plan reportedly begins with a fundamental principle: no recruitment or posting should occur without a corresponding funded position. This would require every government job to have budget allocation before anyone receives an appointment, addressing what many see as the root cause of the current mess.
Salaries would receive protected status as a first charge on government funds, following only debt obligations and constitutional requirements. Once appropriated, wage allocations couldn’t be redirected or delayed, regardless of other budget pressures.
For new hires, the proposal suggests implementing provisional pay codes immediately upon posting. Rather than waiting months for verification processes to complete, workers would start receiving salaries right away while administrative checks continue behind the scenes.
A stabilization fund would absorb unexpected cash-flow problems, drawing from surpluses generated by profitable state agencies. The National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and similar revenue-generating bodies would contribute to this buffer instead of funding discretionary projects.
Technical integration represents another pillar of the plan. Seamless connections between Ghana’s Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) and the payroll infrastructure would ensure postings, transfers, and promotions automatically trigger corresponding salary adjustments without bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Perhaps most controversially, the proposals would strip ministerial discretion over salary releases. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson has been involved in recent commitments to resolve teacher salary delays, but the reform blueprint suggests removing such discretionary control entirely. Once Parliament approves wage budgets, payments would flow automatically.
Outstanding arrears would be cleared using first-in, first-out accounting principles, with workers earning interest on any payments delayed beyond 30 days. A legally binding monthly cash release calendar would make payroll predictable rather than subject to ad hoc ministry decisions.
The plan acknowledges that temporary cash shortages will occur in any government. However, it argues that the state should utilize overdraft facilities at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) rather than forcing workers to finance government operations through delayed salaries.
Accountability mechanisms complete the framework, with proposed surcharges and performance penalties for officials who miss payroll deadlines. Public scorecards would track compliance and highlight failures.
The urgency behind these proposals reflects a deteriorating situation. In June 2025, rotational nurses and midwives struck over 12 months of unpaid allowances, withdrawing services nationwide. Teachers staged protests just last week, with some reporting 13 months without pay.
Ghana’s payroll challenges aren’t unique to the current administration, but the scale has reached critical levels. Healthcare workers providing essential services and teachers shaping future generations find themselves unable to meet basic expenses while awaiting compensation for months of work already performed.
Whether Professor Asare’s detailed blueprint gains traction with policymakers remains uncertain. However, his emphasis on treating pay day as sacred resonates with frustrated public sector workers who’ve exhausted patience with promises of eventual payment.
The proposals represent a shift from viewing salary delays as inevitable administrative problems to treating them as accountability failures requiring structural solutions. For thousands of Ghanaians currently working without pay, any reform that ensures timely compensation would mark a welcome change.