'Contracted retirees' major problem to government payroll - Auditor General

The Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has said his outfit will do whatever it takes to protect the public purse which is overburdened with "ghost names".

Mr Domelevo stressed that, the constitution has an age limit where one must retire but one major problem the country faces is that these people are contracted and are still paid when they finally exit the system.

". . our graduates are on the street, unemployed, that is why I am worried about these contract employment. You must go home and join your grandchildren so others can also come in," he noted.

According to him, some public servants are ripping apart the public purse with their dubious and scandalous deals.

He said government spends so much money on paying salaries to non existing individuals (ghost names), which to him, is killing the nation slowly.

The Auditor-General, who disclosed this at the launch of the Personal Verification Exercise, says the exercise is going help prevent undue payments.

"We are taking bold steps to verify the payroll system which will help end corruption in the public sector especially those on government's payroll.

"The time has come for the country to take drastic steps to stop periodic verifications.

"After this verification exercise, people found to be drawing payment from government's coffers for no work done will be dealt with," he said.

Mr. Domelevo said his outfit together with the office of the Special Prosecutor will demand refund of funds paid to individuals who will be caught in the "ghost names" web.

He has appealed to all and sundry to collaborate with the exercise.

"If you know you have ghost names on payroll just go and remove it before this exercise, because under the financial administration regulations 229, you have a duty to ensure that the people who are paid on your payroll are people who work for you only, so you can't say the person has being transferred but you still have him/her on your payroll," he said.

Heads of ministries, departments, agencies and institutions who fail to help remove “ghosts names” drawing salaries from the government payroll in their respective units will be surcharged for the financial loss caused the government.

The Auditor General, Mr Daniel Domelevo who made this known said heads have a responsibility to ensure that the people who are supposedly employed in their institutions were real and not “ghosts.”

He was speaking at the launch of the National Payroll and Personnel Verification Audit at Elmina on Monday.

The exercise will start from July 17 to July 27 2018.

In the Central region, a total of 51,000 workers are expected to be verified at various points to be set up in the various district capitals.