The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in Ghana has released a report on a collaborative investigation with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) regarding the Government’s Payroll Administration, in what is known as the clearing of ‘Ghost Names.’
The report said that investigations had helped the nation save over GH¢34.2 million for the 2024 financial year alone resulting from the blocking of salaries and the removal of undeserving individuals from the government’s payroll.
According to the OSP, Kissi Agyebeng, the released report is part of Phase One of the collaborative investigation, focusing on unwarranted salaries for employees of the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service in the Northern Region.
The report also showed that Two Million Eight Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand One Hundred and Forty-Four cedis Eighty pesewas (GH¢2,854,144.80) was identified as unearned monthly salaries being paid to deceased, retired, vacated, missing, or unknown individuals or ‘Ghost Names’ from their respective effective dates to January 2024, when it was blocked by the Special Prosecutor.
The report also mentioned that the OSP and CAGD are pursuing legal actions against individuals involved in promoting individuals to non-existent schools, validating payments to deceased, untraceable, and retired individuals, and those who have vacated their positions.
