The Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, has urged Chief Executives of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to actively contribute to the design of Ghana’s new public sector compensation system.
He said Government is not importing a foreign model but wants a home-grown, sustainable system built through broad stakeholder consultation.
Speaking at the opening of a day’s stakeholder engagement organised by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) with SOE CEOs on the transition to the Independent Public Emoluments Commission (IPEC) in Accra on Thursday, the Minister said the engagement was critical to building consensus.
The meeting was on the theme: “Towards an Independent, Equitable & Sustainable Compensation System: Stakeholder’s Perspectives on Ghana’s Public Sector Pay Reforms.”
“This is not coming to take your powers… We want you to support, we want you to contribute, we want you to give any other input that will be able to help us to bring in something that is new. Let it be the best system ,” he added.
Hon. Agyekum assured participants that President John Dramani Mahama is in full support of the reforms and called on SOEs not to hold back their views.
On concerns that the IPEC is targeting Article 71 office holders, the Minister said Government is aware of the legal process required.
“We know it has to go through a process…,” he clarified.
FWSC Boss Assures Boards
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive of the FWSC, Dr George Smith-Graham, had assured SOE Boards that they will not lose their mandate under IPEC.
He said under the proposed framework, Boards will continue to assess their business models and operating environments and submit evidence-based remuneration proposals to IPEC.
“What changes is not the relevance of the board, but the governance architecture within which its proposals are considered,” he said.
He stressed that equity does not mean equal pay for all, but that differences must have an objective, transparent and defensible basis linked to size, complexity, profitability, capacity to pay, productivity and market scarcity.
Dr Smith-Graham added that IPEC will complement and not duplicate the work of SIGA, with Boards originating proposals, SIGA providing governance and financial performance perspectives, and IPEC providing compensation oversight on behalf of Government as shareholder.
The stakeholder engagement is part of consultations ahead of the IPEC Bill expected to be laid before Parliament in October 2026.
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