PAC sitting: Those fleecing the State will be exposed – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has warned individuals involved in the fraudulent payment of unearned salaries within the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other agencies under the Ministry of Education.

Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday, August 22, Dr. Apaak led a team from the Ministry and GES to respond to findings in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report, which uncovered widespread financial irregularities.

The report revealed that some staff of the GES received salaries they did not earn, while certain head teachers validated payments for deceased staff. It also cited weak supervision and poor internal controls that enabled these irregularities.

Dr. Apaak described the situation as alarming and called for collective concern over the level of dishonesty within the system.

“This should be of concern to all of us. It is very worrying. The aspect of dishonesty cannot be overlooked. But I must state that we know of instances of collusion. Let’s not mince words. It is very strange that the Controller and Accountant-General would, on their own, decide to pay staff of GES at a rate higher than what they ought to be getting,” he stated.

He further assured the committee that ongoing measures by the Ministry and other agencies would soon expose all those behind the fraudulent acts.

“When the Director-General spoke about some work that we are doing, some of these issues are being considered. And sooner than later, those who have made it their mission to fleece the state through all kinds of schemes would be duly exposed, and I want to reassure the committee of that,” he added.

Following the revelations, the PAC has directed head teachers involved in the wrongful validation of salaries to refund the monies within 30 days.

Meanwhile, the government has launched a nationwide payroll audit to flush out ghost names from the public payroll. Earlier this year, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department suspended salaries for tens of thousands of inactive workers and began processes to recover funds wrongfully paid through unauthorized validations.

The payroll audit is expected to continue through August and September as part of broader efforts to sanitize the system, tighten internal controls, and safeguard public funds.