The Ministry of Information has said the GHC150,000 paid to some of its staff who worked during the Covid-19 lockdown was justified.
The Ministry says the monies were approved by the Ministry of Health which says the amount paid to the staff was justified.
The Auditor-General has raised concerns in its March 2020 to June 2022 report, questioning the basis for such remuneration.
Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, the Auditor General, had said that the GHC151,500.00 paid to each staff of the Information Ministry who worked at the time to refund the monies paid to its staff without approval.
“During our review, we noted that senior management staff and other supporting staff of the Ministry of Information paid themselves a total amount of GH¢151,500.00 as COVID-19 risk allowance for coming to work during the lockdown,” the report had stated.
Meanwhile, the Director of Finance and Monitoring at the Ministry of Information, Mawuli Segbefia, has indicated that staff of the Ministry needed to be motivated for the service they rendered to the nation.
According to him, “the allowances were part of the plan that was submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval”.
“You will recall that during that time when the country was locked up, most officers of MDAs were required to stay at home but the Ministry of Information was required to report to work every day as part of response to the Covid fight.
“So, we needed to motivate those staff who came daily to the office to help develop the Covid-19 response plan for publication,” he told the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament Thursday, July 25, 2024.
