The Controller and Accountant-Generals Department (CAGD) says the deployment of the Third-Party Reference System (TPRS) led to increasing business activities by third party institutions because of their satisfaction with the service delivery.

Mr Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem, Acting Controller and Accountant-General, said there was growth in deduction payment from GH¢1.2billion in 2014 to GH¢ 3.4billion as of the end of April 2020.

Mr Kwaning-Bosompem made these remarks at the upgraded TPRS sensitization programme held in Accra.

He said having used the system for close to seven years and having listened to the concerns of stakeholders, including government employees, "we have decided to upgrade the system to make it more effective and secured."

He said the upgraded TPRS would enhance transactions between government employees and third-party institutions.

The upgraded software seeks to secure, enhance efficient payments and deductions on behalf of Government employees, who conduct transactions with Thirty Party Institutions (TPIs), such as financial and hire purchase institutions, through their remuneration from the CAGD.

Mr Kwaning-Bosompem said the innovation would offer a convenient means of transacting business for employees on the payroll, the CAGD, employees as well as TPIs.

He said the upgraded computerised system was to meet legitimate concerns of the already existing software that they adopted in 2014.

The Acting Controller and Accountant-General said before the adoption of the software, they faced challenges on the manual system such as wrongful and illegitimate deductions from employees' salaries and impersonation by some employees.

"Before then, we had challenges, including the difficulty of establishing the credit worthiness of prospective clients by TPIs, monthly loan repayment drop-offs, and queuing criteria on payroll systems for third party deductions," he added.

Mr Jeff Konadu Addo, Director, INTU IT Ghana, consultants in the development of the software, said the upgraded system would ensure that employees' bio images were loaded into the system to avoid impersonation.

He said they had introduced the generation of application mandate together with the submission of pin by employees to TPIs as a means of authenticating loan transaction.

"We decided to upgrade the system in digitising the facility application form and removing the need for guarantor's signature on the application form," he added.