The long-running scandal of ghost names on Ghana’s public payroll has taken a decisive turn as the Office of the Auditor-General confirms the recovery
The long-running scandal of ghost names on Ghana’s public payroll has taken a decisive turn as the Office of the Auditor-General confirms the recovery of GH¢10 million from individuals who unlawfully received government salaries.
The recovered funds have already been paid into the Consolidated Fund at the Bank of Ghana.
Auditor-General Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, speaking to the Daily Graphic, explained that the recoveries were voluntarily made by affected individuals after they were confronted with evidence of wrongful payments.
He described the development as a significant breakthrough in a wider special audit into unearned salaries, which has consistently drained the national purse.
Scale
The ongoing audit, which covers January 2023 to April 2025, has uncovered staggering payroll irregularities.
Findings show that 53,311 individuals who had formally exited the public service—through retirement, resignation, contract expiration, termination, or death—remained on the government payroll.
From this number, 2,446 people continued to draw salaries after their official exit dates, costing the state GH¢150.36 million.
According to Asiedu, MDAs and MMDAs have been instructed to ensure immediate recovery of all outstanding amounts.
Why It Happened
The audit attributes the lapses to poor payroll management systems and weak coordination between government institutions.
In several cases, although staff separations were duly recorded, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) was not promptly informed, leading to the continued disbursement of salaries.
This inefficiency has been a recurring theme in successive Auditor-General’s reports, despite the introduction of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD2) meant to centralise and automate payroll operations.
Beyond Recovery
While the Auditor-General welcomed the voluntary refunds as a cost-saving measure for the state, he stressed that recovery alone is not enough.
His office is now collaborating with the Ministry of Finance and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to hold culpable officials accountable.
“Payroll officers, human resource managers, institutional heads and other validators who negligently or deliberately authorised these unearned salaries are being investigated. Dossiers are being prepared for prosecution,” he warned.
The prosecutions are expected to test President John Dramani Mahama’s recent commitment to strengthen accountability in public financial management.
The President disclosed that special courts are being established by the Attorney-General’s Office and the Judicial Service to fast-track such cases.
Government’s Position
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has already raised the alarm over the magnitude of the ghost names menace, revealing that over GH¢150 million has been lost to unearned salaries in the last two years.
He has assured that payroll cleansing will remain a priority in government’s fiscal reforms.
A Persistent Problem
The challenge of ghost names is not new. Past audits, including the 2022 Auditor-General’s report, flagged millions of cedis in salaries paid to ex-staff and even deceased workers.
Several payroll “clean-up” exercises have been conducted over the years, yet the problem persists largely due to systemic inefficiencies and corruption.
COMMENTS