No appropriation was made for ‘Neutrality Allowance’ in 2022 budget – John Kumah

‘Neutrality Allowance’ missed the consideration stage of 2022 Budget, Minister

Current challenges make it difficult for us to pay ‘Neutrality Allowance’, Dr. Kumah

CLOGSAG members strike over neutrality allowance

A Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Kumah, has indicated that the Neutrality Allowance being demanded by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) is

Read full articlenot in the 2022 budget of the government.

Speaking in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Kumah said that the allowance not being stated in the budget, together with the fact that the government is having revenue mobilisation challenges, makes it difficult for the government to honour an agreement it had with CLOGSAG to pay its members the allowance.

“… the date of the signing was in January, the budget for 2022 was read in February. Unfortunately, someway, somehow it missed the consideration stage of the budget. So even though the government signed for it (Neutrality Allowance) to commence in February, there is no budget item for it for 2022."

“The second difficulty is that 2022 has become an exceptionally difficult year for the government, where even programmed expenditure for the government has been cut by 30 percent,” he said.

The deputy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ejisu, said that the government is negotiating with CLOGSAG to come up with an amicable settlement, adding that government is committed to paying the allowance.

The MP further refuted suggestions that the Neutrality Allowance being demanded by CLOGSAG, is compensation for them not engaging in political activities.

According to him, ‘Neutrality Allowance’ is a term a committee set up by the government came up with to address the demands of the association in 2019.

Members of CLOGSAG have been on strike since Thursday, April 21, over the inability of the government to pay their neutrality allowance.

CLOGSAG, in a press statement, directed its members at the Ministries Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as well as the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to stop going to work.

It explained that the government has failed to honour an agreement they had on January 20, 2022.

A lot of Ghanaians are questioning the demands of CLOGSAG, saying that public servants are required to be neutral, therefore, they should not be paid for not engaging in political activities.

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