The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) have unearthed over 2.8 million cedis paid in salaries to ghost names in the Northern Region.
A joint investigation by the OSP and CAGD revealed that people who have died, retired or are no longer serving in the positions are still paid salaries.
A statement released by the OSP on May 20, said the “investigation covered employees on the Government payroll in the Northern Region only.”
Their joint investigation uncovered that the payroll system in the Northern Region covered only the “Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital.” Adding that the payroll was “attended to by an alarming number of unauthorised and inactive validators.”
The state loses at least GHC2.8 million every month to ‘ghost names’ in the Northern Region.
According to the statement, an “amount of GHC2,854,144.80 was identified as unearned monthly salaries, attributed to individuals who were deceased, retired, no longer in their positions, flagged as missing, or whose whereabouts were unknown.”
The two bodies have pledged to replicate the exercise in the remaining 15 regions to rid the bulging government purse of ghost names.
Read the full statement
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller & Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) have released findings into the Government of Ghana Payroll Administration. The investigation covered employees on the Government payroll in the Northern Region only.
The OSP and CAGD observed that the payroll system in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital only) is attended to by an alarming number of unauthorised and inactive validators. In one instance, it was discovered that a primary school in the Kumbungu District of Ghana Education Service did not exist at all. Yet, this non-existent contrived entity was represented as staffed and the purported staff were being validated monthly and being paid salaries.
A staggering amount of GHC2,854,144.80 was identified as unearned monthly salaries, attributed to individuals who were deceased, retired, no longer in their positions, flagged as missing, or whose whereabouts were unknown, commonly referred to as “Ghost Names.”
By blocking these payments and removing the corresponding individuals from the Government Payroll, the Republic saved GHC34,249,737.60 for the 2024 financial year. Additionally, ongoing savings are expected for subsequent years, along with potential upward pay adjustments, thanks to the detection of these unearned salaries facilitated by the joint investigation of the OSP. The OSP and CAGD are engaged in enhanced investigation into the educational institutions under Ghana Education Service in the Northern Region and the Tamale Teaching Hospital aimed at the prosecution of persons who promoted the non-existent school; validated deceased, untraceable, and retired persons and persons who have vacated their posts.
subsequent phases of the investigation will extend to the remaining fifteen regions.