A joint investigation by the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD) has identified that about GH₵ 2.8 million unearned monthly salary was paid to persons who are not supposed to be on the government payroll in the Northern Region.
The OSP on Monday, May 20, released a report into the first phase of the investigations which targeted public school staff and workers at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
“The OSP and CAGD observed that the payroll system in the Northern Region is attended to by an alarming number of unathorised and inactive validators. A staggering amount of GH₵ 2,854,144.80 was identified as unearned monthly salaries attributed to individuals who were deceased, retired, no longer in their position, flagged as missing or whose whereabouts were unknown, commonly referred to as ‘Ghost Names,” the report said.
In one of the instances, the investigators found that a primary school in the Kumbungu District which had no physical presence had staff on the government payroll, who had been receiving monthly salaries.
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“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.
According to the investigating authorities, they have been able to block and remove more than 200 names from the government payroll in that exercise- efforts they touted as saving the government about GHC34,249,737.6 that would otherwise have gone to ghost names, although they didn’t state any person have been prosecuted so far.
The investigations are expected to be extended to other regions, the report said further.
