War on "ghost" staff

Nkoranza (B/A) Jan 16, GNA - Nkoranza Education Directorate has set up a payroll audit implementation committee, charged with the responsibility of taking measures to reduce the incidence of teachers in the district taking salaries for no work done.

Mr. Kwabena Agyemang-Badu, District Director, addressing members of the committee cautioned heads of schools against condoning and conniving with absentee members of staff who would still take their salaries. "The obnoxious practice is a big national problem and you need to work assiduously and help to flush out perpetrators as well as eliminate any bottlenecks in the payroll system in the district", the Director, who is chairman of the committee, said. Mr. Agyemang-Badu called on circuit supervisors to intensify efforts and pay frequent visits to schools to check attendance and movement of teachers to help detect ghost names in payment vouchers for deletion.

"Recalcitrant and habitual absentee teachers will have their names removed from the payroll as the directorate will not tolerate 'ghosts' in the district", he warned. Mr. Samuel Ametwee, district educational internal auditor, advised members of the committee to arrange for a workshop to educate school heads on the payroll system in the Ghana Education Service so they would perform effectively and efficiently. He urged the directorate to resource the committee to visit schools to check the names of all teachers on the district's payroll to remove non-existing ones.

Mr. Joseph Kwao-Amo, member of the committee and a circuit supervisor complained about the practice by some regional managers of schools to make postings and transfers of teachers without notifying district directors of education.

"Such negative practices and attitudes contribute to the existence of ghost names in payment vouchers", he stressed. The 16-member committee comprises 10 Circuit Supervisors, District Accountant, two Internal Auditors, Assistant Director, Human Resource Management and Development and the officer in charge of Integrated Personnel Payroll Database.