Accra, September 8, 2026,The Ministry of Finance has confirmed that all 6,300 Ghana Education Service (GES) staff recruited in 2024 without the required financial clearance have been paid, bringing an end to concerns over outstanding salaries and arrears associated with the affected workers.
The Ministry said the payment was facilitated after the government secured Cabinet approval and subsequently issued the necessary financial clearance to regularise the employment of the affected staff.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the Ministry explained that the 6,300 workers were recruited in 2024 without financial clearance and were subsequently inherited by the current government in 2025.
The Ministry said steps were then taken to address the salary payment challenges facing the affected workers, resulting in the approval and issuance of financial clearance for their payment in four tranches.
“The Ministry of Finance can confirm that all 6,300 staff covered by this arrangement have been paid,” the Ministry stated.
The clarification comes amid concerns raised by the Coalition of Unpaid Newly Posted Staff of the Ghana Education Service, which had appealed over alleged outstanding salary arrears.
The coalition’s concerns had raised questions about whether some newly recruited GES personnel were still waiting for government approval and payment of their outstanding salaries.
However, the Finance Ministry has rejected suggestions that there are still pending requests from the GES for financial clearance.
According to the Ministry, there are currently no outstanding requests for financial clearance from the Ghana Education Service awaiting action at the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry’s clarification is significant because financial clearance is a key requirement in Ghana’s public-sector recruitment and payroll process. It provides the authorisation for government institutions to incure the financial obligations associated with employing additional personnel.
In the case of the 6,300 GES workers, their recruitment in 2024 without the necessary clearance created a situation in which the workers’ employment and salary obligations had to be subsequently regularised.
Rather than leaving the affected workers outside the government payroll indefinitely, the Finance Ministry said Cabinet approval was secured and the required clearance issued to enable their salaries to be processed.
The payments were structured in four tranches as part of the government’s efforts to settle the financial obligations arising from the recruitment.
The latest announcement therefore provides assurance to the affected teachers and other GES personnel who had been waiting for their salary-related concerns to be resolved.
It also comes against the backdrop of broader efforts by government to manage outstanding salary obligations across the public sector while maintaining controls over public expenditure.
Earlier in 2026, the government announced measures to address salary arrears affecting workers in the education and health sectors. The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) said salary arrears for affected education and health workers would be paid according to an approved schedule, with payments spread across several months.
For some GES employees, salary delays have been a source of financial difficulty, particularly for newly recruited staff who had already assumed their duties but were yet to receive the full financial benefits associated with their employment.
The Finance Ministry’s latest statement seeks to draw a distinction between the 6,300 workers covered by the special arrangement and any individual cases that may still have payroll or administrative challenges.
The Ministry has therefore directed staff who continue to experience salary or arrears-related difficulties to contact the Ghana Education Service for assistance.
“Any staff member with an unresolved salary or arrears issue is advised to contact the Ghana Education Service for assistance with the relevant payroll or administrative matter,” the Ministry said.
The clarification also places responsibility on the GES to address individual payroll concerns that may remain after the general financial clearance and payment process has been completed.
The development is expected to provide relief to the affected workers and bring greater clarity to an issue that had generated concerns among newly recruited GES staff.
The controversy surrounding the recruitment also highlights the importance of securing financial clearance before government institutions undertake recruitment. Financial clearance helps ensure that government has the budgetary capacity to meet salary obligations arising from new appointments.
In this case, however, the Finance Ministry said the government took steps to regularise the affected recruitment after inheriting the workers in 2025.
The Ministry’s position is that the financial obligations relating to all 6,300 staff covered by the arrangement have now been settled.
With the payments reportedly completed, any remaining salary or arrears complaints are expected to be treated as individual payroll or administrative matters rather than outstanding financial clearance requests before the Finance Ministry.
The Ministry has consequently maintained that there is no pending GES financial clearance request awaiting action, while advising affected staff to work directly with the Ghana Education Service where specific payment discrepancies persist.
The announcement effectively closes the Finance Ministry’s side of the matter concerning the 6,300 staff and shifts attention to the GES to resolve any individual cases that may remain unresolved.
The payment of the workers also underscores the government’s attempt to regularise public-sector employment obligations inherited from previous recruitment decisions while ensuring that future recruitment is aligned with the required financial approval processes.
SEIDU HUBEIDATU