Renowned broadcaster and social commentator Omanhene Kwabena Asante has expressed deep concern over the persistent delays in the payment of salary arrears to public sector workers in Ghana, describing the situation as worrying and deceptive.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Omanhene questioned why workers who have already rendered services to the state are forced to repeatedly beg the government for salaries owed to them.
“I cannot fathom why a worker in the public sector must beg for salary arrears to be paid. These are monies they have already worked for—why should that be the case?” he asked.
According to him, the recurring nature of the problem has gradually become normalized in the country, with public sector workers facing the same challenge almost every year. He warned that this trend undermines trust in governance and places unnecessary financial and emotional strain on workers who depend on their salaries for survival.
Omanhene Kwabena Asante described the situation as both worrying and deceptive, stressing that a government that contracts workers must be able to plan effectively to honor its wage obligations without delay.
He called for greater accountability and improved financial management to ensure that public sector workers are paid promptly, emphasizing that salary arrears should not be treated as a routine issue in a functioning economy.
In 2025, thousands of recruited nurses, midwives, and other professionals faced significant arrears — some up to 11 months — due to delays in financial clearances and payroll processing from the previous administration. For instance,
▪︎ Over 6,000–13,000 health workers remained unpaid for extended periods.
▪︎ Protests and threats of strikes occurred.
The government pledged to regularize employment and clear arrears for around 150,000 affected workers in health and education.
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While regular monthly salaries for validated public sector workers were generally paid on schedule (e.g., December 2025 vouchers were processed mid-month), arrears from prior recruitments or adjustments often lagged, leading to frustration.
Critics like Kwabena Asante view this pattern as systemic and “deceptive,” reflecting broader challenges in fiscal management and public sector administration that span multiple governments. Such delays have been reported in previous years as well, contributing to the perception of it becoming “normal” in Ghana.