Over 14,000 workers on govt payroll can't be validated - Finance Minister.
Over 14,000 workers on govt payroll can't be validated - Finance Minister
The discovery forms part of government’s broader efforts to clean up the public payroll and eliminate ghost names as part of its fiscal discipline agenda. The Ghana Audit Service was tasked to carry out a thorough audit of payroll records across all 16 regions, and so far, 91% of this audit has been completed.
The exercise uncovered that 53,311 individuals—categorized as separated staff, such as those who have retired, resigned, passed away, or are on leave without pay—still appear on the system. Dr. Forson indicated that government plans to retrieve GH¢150.4 million in wrongful payments made to these individuals between 2023 and 2024. He stressed that strict monthly payroll validations will be enforced, and those responsible for approving payments to ghost names will be held personally liable.
The minister also shared updates on a separate audit covering public arrears and outstanding payments. In collaboration with accounting firms Ernst & Young and PwC, the Ghana Audit Service is auditing GH¢68.7 billion in claims. So far, 87% of this process has been completed. Preliminary findings show that GH¢28.3 billion has been approved for payment, while GH¢3.6 billion has been rejected due to errors, duplicate entries, and breaches of public financial management and procurement rules. Additionally, GH¢562.6 million in claims lacked the necessary supporting documents, while GH¢27.3 billion is still under review. Dr. Forson assured Parliament that full details will be shared once the audit concludes.
He further touched on the issue of 55 halted projects, revealing that some contractors had received loan disbursements without carrying out any work. Others had submitted inflated cost proposals exceeding what Parliament had approved. To address this, the Finance Ministry has initiated a forensic audit of all such projects, with a commitment to update Parliament once the investigation is complete.
Dr. Forson also addressed the strain on government spending for the first half of the year, noting that wage-related expenditure exceeded projections by GH¢1.3 billion. He attributed this mainly to hasty recruitments by the previous administration in the final quarter of 2024, especially in the education, health, and security sectors.
According to the minister, these engagements, along with past adjustments to conditions of work, have undermined the framework meant to manage earnings in the public sector. In response, the Office of the Chief of Staff issued a directive in February, cancelling all public sector recruitments made after December 7, 2024. Heads of institutions were instructed to act on the directive and submit reports by February 17, 2025. The directive emphasized that such end-of-term decisions breached principles of sound governance and should be reversed.
This cancellation, however, has sparked political debate. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin called on President Mahama to reconsider the decision. Responding to this, government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu defended the cancellations, explaining that many of the appointments involved procedural irregularities.
He cited cases where letters were backdated or positions were filled without proper recruitment procedures. He clarified that the revocations were not politically motivated but based on flaws in the processes.
Kwakye Ofosu added that a fresh and transparent hiring process will be launched soon, open to all qualified Ghanaians, without any consideration of political affiliation. He also assured that those affected by the cancellations would still be eligible to reapply and go through the appropriate procedures. Dr. Forson concluded by reaffirming government’s commitment to promoting accountability and preventing abuse of public resources.
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