Late payments lead to consequences, says Grenada PM

The Prime Minister of Grenada has promised to hold those accountable if payments to public workers suffer “undue delays”.

Keith Mitchell, who is also the country’s finance minister, made the pledge during a meeting with permanent secretaries and finance officers last week.

He explained that he called the meeting because of serious concerns stemming from delays of payments to some public workers at the end of January.

Mitchell reminded that finance officers play a critical role in the service because they are responsible for the actual payments of people’s bills.

The January disruption was especially more troubling in cases where it affected workers on the lower salary scales, he added, and as an employer must be prepared “to take action when any officer deliberately does not do his or her job in the execution of duties to workers and to the country.”

He promised that any delays in the execution of payments that occurred because of the slowness of the new payment system are being addressed, and that the accountant general and her team have advised accordingly that they will postpone the full implementation of the new system until April, so as to give workers ample time to learn and adjust to the new system.