OSP blocks GH¢2.85m ghost salary payments with CAG support

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), in collaboration with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), has uncovered and blocked nearly GH¢2.9 million in unearned salaries during a pilot corruption risk assessment into Ghana’s payroll system.

The joint operation, which began in December 2023 and ended in April 2024, was carried out in the Northern Region, covering institutions under the Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Investigators, payroll experts, and tracers from both agencies scrutinised the payroll to detect irregularities, particularly the long-standing issue of “ghost names.”

According to the OSP’s half-year report released on Tuesday, August 19, the probe identified GH¢2,854,144.80 in monthly salaries being paid to individuals who were either deceased, retired, had vacated their posts, or could not be traced. Blocking these payments has saved the state an estimated GH¢34.2 million in the 2024 financial year alone, with the potential for higher savings in subsequent years as salaries are adjusted upward.

The OSP further disclosed that steps are being taken to recover previously disbursed unearned salaries to deceased and untraceable individuals, as well as to those who exited the service unlawfully. In addition, both the OSP and the CAGD are developing stronger internal control mechanisms to curb payroll fraud and prevent future leakages.

The two institutions have indicated that the payroll audit will be extended to the remaining 15 regions as part of Phase I of the exercise. The OSP also revealed that it had secured six convictions and restitution payments related to payroll corruption during the period under review.

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“The payroll system must reflect only those who genuinely work for the Republic,” the OSP stressed, adding that prosecutions will continue against anyone found culpable of corrupt practices in the management of government payroll.