Northern Region GHS, GES 'ghost names' have been paid GH₵2.8m in salaries in 2024 – OSP

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has announced that its collaborative investigation with the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAGD) on the government’s payroll has revealed the massive payment of unearned salaries to public sector workers.

The OSP, in a statement issued on Monday, 20 May 2024, stated that part of its findings in the first phase of the investigation, which covers suspected instances of unearned salaries in the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana Education Service (GES), showed that nearly GH₵3 million was paid to non-existing public servants in the Northern Region alone.

According to the OSP, the investigation resulted in the blocking of salaries and removal of undeserving individuals from the government’s payroll, saving the country over GH₵34.2 million for the 2024 financial year alone.

“The OSP and CAGD observed that the payroll system in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under the 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 the 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 GH₵2,854,144.80 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',” parts of the statement read.

It added, “By blocking these payments and removing the corresponding individuals from the Government Payroll, the Republic saved GH₵34,249,737.60 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 report also mentioned that the OSP and CAGD are pursuing legal actions against individuals involved in promoting individuals to non-existent schools, validating payments to deceased, untraceable, and retired individuals, and those who have vacated their positions.

It noted that efforts are being made to recover unearned salaries paid in respect of deceased, untraceable, retired, and vacated individuals.

BAI/SARA

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