CASH FLOWS IN IMO AS ROCHAS CLEARS ARREARS OF WORKERS’ SALARIES

This Christmas period has been described as an era of cash flow to government staffers in Imo State Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and by extension the traders and artisans as the State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha cleared all the workers’ salary arrears and allowances up to December 2015.

According to information from the governor`s media office and office of his Chief of Staff few days ago, Governor Okorocha approved the payment of all workers salary up to December 2015.

About 10 Months salary arrears of Imo State owned newspapers `the Statesman` was cleared, the health workers whose payments have lingered for a long time close to 10 months were also cleared and others too numerous to mention.

When the governor gave the directive to pay all workers, he made it clear that because of the significance of workers salaries to him, his regime has always addressed issues concerning their salary with high regard.

He explained that the delay in payment of health workers salary was due to the need to resolve the issues of certain questionable allowances and cases of nonchalant attitude by workers towards their jobs.

Without mincing words, the governor stated that from 2011 when he took over the state mantle of leadership, his administration has always paid workers salarie as at when due, but explained that the unfortunate delay in payment of workers’ salaries was due to the dwindling economy of the country occasioned by fall of oil price.

His words, “the truth is there was never a time the state government intended to owe the Health workers in the state. The only thing was that the government was not satisfied with the conducts of the Health workers and their poor service delivery to the people of the state, despite the huge amount being spent on the payment of their salaries and allowances. The government also questioned some of the allowances they were paying themselves.”

The governor who reminded the workers that he was the first to pay minimum wage also called on them to appreciate government’s good gestures by being up and doing in their work especially in the coming year so that the state could move from strength to strength.

Adding his voice the governor`s Special Adviser on Public enlightenment and Strategy, DR Kelechi Okpaleke, revealed that some workers in the health sector are paid bogus amounts of money as salaries, for instance, medical doctors went home with about 1,200,000 (one million, two hundred thousand naira) as salaries and allowances` monthly .

He said all most all the workers in Imo State have collected their salaries, adding that he was shocked with his findings that in Imo State Council For Arts and Culture, some workers as old as 70 years old were still receiving salaries as dancers while most of the younger ones come to the office only during month ends so they can collect their salaries.

He wondered why some of the journalists working in the state-owned newspaper company, The Statesman, could not publish one article in one year and the newspaper has failed to be regularly on newspaper stand even with the level of monthly financial support they receive from the governor as subvention.