Finance Ministry clears air on GES salary arrears, says 6,300 staff fully paid

The government says it has cleared the salary payment obligations of 6,300 Ghana Education Service (GES) staff whose recruitment in 2024 had created a dispute over financial clearance and subsequent payment of salaries and arrears.

The Ministry of Finance said the affected workers have now been fully paid following steps taken to regularise their employment and address their salary concerns.

The clarification follows concerns raised by the Coalition of Unpaid Newly Posted Staff of the GES over outstanding salary arrears.

In a statement dated Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the Ministry explained that the 6,300 workers were among staff recruited in 2024 and inherited by the current government in 2025.

According to the Ministry, Cabinet approval was subsequently obtained and the necessary financial clearance issued in four tranches to facilitate payment.

“The Ministry of Finance can confirm that all 6,300 staff covered by this arrangement have been paid,” the statement said.

The Ministry also sought to clarify the status of financial clearance requests from the GES, saying there was no pending request before it.

“The Ministry further clarifies that there are no outstanding requests for financial clearance from the GES awaiting action by the Ministry of Finance,” it stated.

The development comes amid a wider disagreement over the circumstances surrounding the 2024 recruitment.

A spokesperson for former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Yaw Opoku Mensah, has disputed the Finance Ministry’s assertion that the workers were recruited without financial clearance.

He has cited a financial clearance issued by the Ministry of Finance in May 2024 for the recruitment of 2,000 graduate teachers, arguing that the records show the recruitment received the necessary approval.

Mr Opoku Mensah said: “For the avoidance of doubt, not a single person was recruited outside the financial clearance granted in 2024. Every individual recruited had their name and particulars captured on the GES master list.”

The Finance Ministry, however, maintains that the 6,300 staff covered by its payment arrangement have been paid.

It has directed workers who continue to have individual salary or arrears problems to take up their cases with the GES.

“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 salary dispute has involved newly recruited GES staff who have complained about delays in receiving salaries and arrears. In May 2026, concerned newly recruited teachers said the government had communicated a payment arrangement for arrears covering the period from August 2024 to November 2025.

The Finance Ministry now says the 6,300 workers covered by its arrangement have been paid and that there are no outstanding GES requests for financial clearance awaiting action.

Workers who still believe they are owed money have consequently been advised to engage the GES so that their individual payroll and administrative records can be reviewed.