OSP Uncovers GH₵2.8m Salaries Paid To ‘Ghost Names’

…Teacher Unions in Tears, As Panic Grips GHS

A joint investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller & Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) into government payroll administration, has uncovered a staggering GH₵2.8million cedis in salaries paid to individuals, otherwise called ‘ghost names’ who were either deceased, retired, or have vacated their positions.

It revealed that, a number of unauthorized and inactive validators handling the payroll system for educational institutions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Tamale Teaching Hospital, are milking the state.

Per the report of the investigation, some headteachers and heads of units, were said to be validating some persons, whose whereabouts were unknown to them, whiles some validators were validating persons who were, to the knowledge of the validators, deceased, retired or vacated their posts.

“A total amount of Two Million Eight Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand One Hundred and Forty-Four cedis Eighty pesewas (GH₵2,854,144.80) was traced as representing unearned monthly salaries being paid to persons who are deceased, retired, vacated their posts, flagged as missing staff, or whose whereabouts are unknown (colloquially referred to as “Ghost Names”) from their respective effective dates to January 2024, when it was blocked by the Special Prosecutor,” the OSP said.

The report mentioned for instance, a “ghost” primary school in the Kumbungu District, which was fictitiously created with “ghost workers” to draw juicy salaries from government payroll in the Northern Region.

“In one instance, it was discovered that xxxxxx DA Primary School in the Kumbungu District of 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. It is extremely worrisome that a non-existent entity, had been designated as a functioning District Assembly Primary School and the data of the artificially created staff, had found its way into the government payroll system for regular payments”.

In a press release issued yesterday May 20, 2024, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng said, the joint investigation, which is the first volume of Phase I, covers the Northern Region only.

The report indicated that, “The OSP and CAGD, observed that the payroll system in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital) is attended to by an alarming number of unauthorised and inactive validators.

Indeed, most of the management units, were found to be validating persons through the use of unauthorised and inactive validators’ credentials. That is to say, the credentials of deceased and retired validators, were being actively used in the validation”.

Below Is Published, The Full Report Of Investigation:

Government_Payroll_Administration_-_Phase_I_Vol_1

Source: Anchorghana.com