CAGD Committed to Addressing Unsolicited Text Messages

By David O. Yarboi-Tetteh

Cape Coast — The Controller and Accountant General Department(CAGD) has given the assurance of the department's commitment, to address the problem of the numerous unsolicited text messages sent to workers regarding the granting of loans by some financial institutions.

The Deputy Controller and Accountant General, in-charge of Payroll, Wisdom Komla Mesan, noted that personal information to such financial institutions could only be provided by people working directly or indirectly on the payroll system.

Mr Mesan was speaking at a sensitisation and training programme on Payroll and the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV) at Cape Coast in the Central Region yesterday, attended by heads of the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

It sought to bring to the fore some key issues associated with the implementation of the electronic salary voucher and validation of workers for the workers to have an informed view on the topic.

He said that a number of workers had made several complaints about the continuous and irritating nature of such text messages on a daily basis.

Mr Mesan noted that, the sending of unsolicited text messages was an embarrassment to his outfit, adding that adequate measures would be taken to protect the data of employees.

He urged heads of institutions managing data of employees to protect such documents.

He disclosed that employees of public universities would soon be migrated onto the CAGD's platform for the payment of their salaries.

Data from the universities, he said, had been collected and was currently being rolled onto the software for the final migration.

The migration, he explained, was in line with the country's financial regulations and urged the various institutions to cooperate with the department.

Mr Mesan further indicated the resolve of the CAGD to progressively employ Information Communication Technology as a tool in improving service delivery.

He underscored the need for persons handling the validation of employees to take steps and validate the payroll every month in line with Regulation 90 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).

The CAGD, he said, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance was exercising budgetary control of pay roll cost to ensure that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) operated within their approved compensation budget.

Mrs Elizabeth Osei, Director of Payroll Management, in an address, cautioned against people who had retired validating for employees or the use of their emails and password in the validation process.

"It is not right for people who have exited to validate" she said.

She explained that, the sensitisation programme was aimed at reaching out to all stakeholders on the electronic salary payment voucher.

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