-as OSP Unveils Scandal in Govt Payroll Investigations
When Dr. Mamoud Bawumiah the Vice President and Flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party told an elite audience of Judges and senior public officials at the recent Chief Justice Forum held in April at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) that the government had removed all ghost names from its payroll, he knew it was a bold lie.
Both Dr. Bawumiah and his Host, the Chief Justice Getrude Torkonu at whose behest the Conference was organized were already privy to an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Accountant General’s Office that was in contrast with the continuous claim.
The OSP had begun freezing of suspicious names on the government payroll after announcing publicly in its November 2023 media briefing that it was commencing the phase one of payroll cleaning.
Fast Forward: it has emerged that a comprehensive investigation led by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has unearthed a disturbing revelation of a non-existent government school with phantom teachers fraudulently drawing salaries from the state coffers in the Northern Region.
The probe report, titled ‘Report of Investigation: Government of Ghana Payroll Administration (Phase I Vol. 1)’, dated 20th May 2024, exposed a network of corruption within the payroll system.
The non-existent District Assembly (D/A) primary school, falsely designated in the Kumbungu district, has raised serious concerns over mismanagement of public funds.
“In one instance, it was discovered ‘txxxxxx’ 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,” the report noted.
An amount exceeding Ghc2.8 million in unearned salaries was discovered to have been channeled to deceased, retired, missing, or fictitious staff members, prompting urgent actions to block further illicit payments and preventing substantial financial losses for the government.
Furthermore, the investigation flagged 1,265 individuals on the government payroll as high-risk for suspected corruption, leading to the withholding of salaries and the launch of prosecution procedures against the perpetrators involved.
The investigation was a pilot for an upcoming broader investigation into the government’s
payroll administration, and covered the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health
Service (specifically the Tamale Teaching Hospital) in the Northern Region as phase 1.
Phase 2 of the probe will cover Ministries, Departments, and all other Agencies and
Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MDAs/MMDAs.
The OSP, in collaboration with the CAGD, has vowed to pursue robust measures to address the systemic irregularities and ensure accountability for those responsible for perpetrating such fraudulent activities.
“The blockade of the amount of Two Million Eight Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand One
Hundred and Forty-Four cedis Eighty pesewas (GHC2,854,144.80) and the removal from
Government Payroll of the corresponding deceased, retired, post vacators, the missing, and
those whose whereabouts are unknown has saved the Republic an amount of Thirty-Four
Million Two Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-seven cedis Six
pesewas (GHC34,249,737.6) for the 2024 financial year, and future savings of that
amount (in addition to future periodic upward pay adjustments) for every year that the
unearned-salaries-amount would have remained undetected but for the joint investigation.
and assessment by the OSP and CAGD of Government Payroll in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under Ghana Education Service and Tamale Teaching Hospital).”
The enforcement of justice remains a top priority to safeguard public resources and uphold transparency in governance.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia touting his achievement in digitisation, announced that the Ghana Card system has helped in eradicating ghost names from the payroll.
“I have also seen through digitalisation that you can deal with corruption. We have now eliminated ghost workers at the Controller and Accountant General’s office just by using the Ghana Card because the ghosts don’t have fingerprints.
“This has saved SSNIT four hundred and eighty million Ghana cedis by eliminating twenty-nine thousand ghost pensioners.
“… and at the National Service (Secretariat) by eliminating forty-four thousand workers, we have saved over three hundred and fifty-six million Ghana cedis. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.