BY Issah Olegor
Growing frustration over unpaid entitlements is spreading across Ghana’s public sector, especially the security services like the Ghana Prisons Service and the Audit Service Department now at the centre of widening concerns about salary and allowance arrears under the current administration of John Dramani Mahama.
While security services have publicly complained about unpaid rent and welfare-related allowances, workers in other state institutions are also grappling with deepening financial hardship, exposing a broader systemic challenge within government payroll and compensation structures.
Beyond the Prisons Service and other security agencies like the Ghana Police Service, The Fire Service and Ghana Immigration Service, workers of the Audit Service Department are reported to be owed up to ten months of salary arrears, intensifying perceptions that the crisis is not isolated to uniformed services alone, which is creating unease in the barracks.
The government is also owing retiring soldiers of their entitlements running into billions of Ghana cedis.
Union sources say the prolonged delays have left many audit staff struggling to meet basic living expenses, including rent, utilities, transportation and family responsibilities, mirroring the pressures being faced by personnel in the security sector.
These concerns come against the backdrop of an internal circular issued by the Ghana Prisons Service Headquarters in Accra on 17 February 2026, formally acknowledging serious delays in the payment of non-salary related allowances to eligible officers.
In the circular, signed by the Director-General of Prisons, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, the Prisons Administration admitted that three full quarters of rent allowance—covering the second, third and fourth quarters of 2025—remain outstanding.
The Management conceded that the delay has caused widespread hardship and anxiety among officers and their families across commands and stations nationwide, particularly in relation to rental obligations, transportation costs and other essential domestic responsibilities.
The statement described the distress as real and significant, stressing that it was neither ignored nor underestimated by the leadership of the Service.
According to the Prisons Administration, sustained engagements have been ongoing with relevant authorities at the highest levels of government to secure the release of the outstanding funds.
These efforts, it said, include formal correspondence, continuous follow-ups, strategic consultations and policy advocacy.
The Management claimed that these engagements have already produced positive indications, giving the Service a “reasonable and credible basis for optimism” that the outstanding allowances will eventually be released.
However, no specific payment timelines were provided, even as officers continue to face mounting financial pressure.
The Administration urged personnel to remain calm, disciplined and professional, cautioning that public agitation or external escalation of the issue could undermine ongoing high-level negotiations and slow progress.
Officers were encouraged to maintain institutional solidarity and rely on internal engagement channels as the best route to resolution.
The circular further emphasized that the welfare of officers remains a priority and that management is not only pursuing the settlement of current arrears but also working to strengthen financial coordination mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of such delays in 2026 and beyond.
The Regional commanders, unit heads and officers-in-charge were directed to formally brief all personnel under their command and report compliance to headquarters.
The situation within the Prisons Service now reflects a wider public sector challenge. With Audit Service Department workers also reportedly owed up to ten months in salary arrears, concerns are growing about the sustainability of compensation systems across state institutions.
Critics note that the convergence of grievances from both security and non-security agencies points to deeper fiscal and administrative bottlenecks rather than isolated institutional failures.
