Muntaka gives Immigration Service staff 24 hours to recover GH¢46,000

Minister of the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has given Immigration Service staff until October 21, 2026, to recover GH¢46,000 paid as salaries to two officers who have vacated their posts.

The deadline follows revelations that the two officers received the salaries after leaving their posts, with staff who validated the payments expected to account for the money if it is not recovered.

Immigration-Police Joint Taskforce: 8 crackdowns on undocumented migrants, cybercrime

Speaking during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on October 20, 2026, Muntaka expressed concern about delays in recovering such payments, warning that the officers involved could leave the country before auditors identify the irregularities.

He said the Immigration Service had adopted measures to prevent officers who deliberately take salaries they are not entitled to from travelling before the money is recovered.

According to him, the service, working with the Comptroller, places such individuals on a stop list to prevent them from leaving the country.

Muntaka explained that when the officers leave before the money can be retrieved, attention shifts to the staff who validated the payments.

"If they don't get the culprits, we are putting them on the stop list already. They will have to pay for it. So, Madam Chair, yes, it came to our notice very late, but we're giving those who validated up to tomorrow, and I want to assure the committee and the Auditor General that definitely we will retrieve their money", he stated.

The minister also urged auditors to act promptly when they identify such irregularities, noting that delays could make it difficult to recover public funds.

He disclosed that the two cases involved different periods, with one dating to 2025, during the transition period, and the other to 2024.

JKB/VPO

Guns and Drugs: Dr Adam Bonaa Warns of Growing Security Threat to Ghana