Thousands of employees under the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneur Development Agency (GYEED) must brace themselves up for delays in payment of their allowances due to an ongoing review of the payment procedures in light of allegations of ‘ghost workers’.
Youth and Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah announced a temporary freeze in payment of allowances to correct what he described as administrative lapses and corruption in the system.
The action by the minister follows the unravelling of deep-seated corruption in the implementation of the youth employment programme.
Joy FM’s Manasseh Azuri Awuni, in a comprehensively investigated report, exposed how officers manning the programme paid monies to ghost employees.
He also revealed official cover-ups by persons found to be guilty for many corrupt activities in the implementation of the programme.
Elvis Afriyie said the time has come to clean the system.
He told Manasseh in an interview a leaky bucket must be sealed before it can be used again.
He said the freeze in payment of the allowances is just a temporary measure, adding, personnel under the programme must be patient as attempts are being made to clear the system.
He could not however say exactly how long the allowances of the beneficiaries will be frozen, expect to assure beneficiaries that his outfit will expedite action in restoring their payment system.
