Accra, July 9, GNA - Mr Charles Otoo, Financial Controller of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Thursday denied that there were problems with the Education Ministry's payroll budget, which could affect government's payment of salaries this month.

"As far as we are concerned there are no problems with our payroll because the Controller and Accountant-General had paid all our salaries up to the month of June," he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra.

"If there were problems, the Ministry of Finance would not have ordered the Controller to pay us our salaries," he said.

Mr Otoo was reacting to a statement made by Mr Eugene Ofosuhene, Deputy Controller and Accountant-General on Wednesday that problems with the Education Ministry's payroll budget had derailed the entire payroll structure of government.

Mr Otoo also denied knowledge of any scheduled meeting next week with the office of the Controller and Accountant-General to rectify the alleged anomaly.

He said he was surprised when he heard the report on radio on Thursday morning.

"I cannot offer any further comment because as I have said there are no problems with our payroll."

Mr Ofosuhene made the assertion when he delivered a lecture at this year's Public Accountancy Week in Accra on the new Cash Management System in the public sector.

In his presentation he said, "until we met with the Minister of Education to resolve the Ministry of Education's payroll budget situation, which had currently derailed the entire payroll structure in the country, salary releases would not come".

"The problem at MOE is so huge that there appears to be some concealing of names so they are unable to provide us with realistic figures for their budget."

Mr Ofosuhene said the Ministry of Defence would be an exception since their salaries were paid fortnightly.