Accra, June 28, GNA - The Government paid 2.4 billion cedis as workmen compensation to 232 injured workers between December 2003 and April 2004. Three hundred and thirty-eight injured workers submitted their claims for compensation in the given period but 106 did not receive payment because their claims were questionable.

Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MFEP), who was answering parliamentary questions, said the Ministry had rolled over the outstanding claims to the current number of injured workmen, which stood at 367 as at March 2005. He said the Ministry released 867.7 million cedis in 2002 through the Department of Labour to pay compensation to 143 out of 230 registered injured workmen.

"The Auditor - General could not clear the 87 remaining persons at the time to enable them to be paid. After their clearance they were added to the 2003 list." Mr Baah-Wiredu said that since 2002 the Government had demonstrated its commitment to honouring its liabilities under the Workmen's Compensation Law by paying appropriate compensations due to injured public servants. He said the MFEP had received an application from the Department of Labour for an amount of 5.6 billion cedis to pay compensation to injured public servants.

The Minister said the MFEP was processing the outstanding claims for payment and pledged that it would pay outstanding compensation as soon as the Auditor-General cleared them. The Workmen's Compensation Law 1987 (PNDC Law 187) provides that an employer shall be liable to pay compensation to a workman, who sustains an injury by accident out of and/or in the course of his/her employment. The law also provides that compensation be paid in court to dependants of a fatally injured workman.