The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) have jointly revealed savings totaling GH¢34,249,737.6 for Ghana during the 2024 financial year. 

This substantial amount was saved through a meticulous examination of the government payroll in the Northern Region, encompassing educational institutions administered by the Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The initiative stemmed from the OSP's actions in January 2024, where they identified and blocked several "ghost names" within the payroll.

Following this intervention, an investigation ensued, ultimately uncovering an initial amount of GH¢2,854,144.80 attributed to unearned salaries.

Detailed in Phase 1, Volume 1 of their collaborative investigative report, released on Monday, May 20, the OSP emphasised that without their concerted efforts, these discrepancies may have persisted unnoticed. 

In a press release issued on Monday, May 20, they two state agencies insisted that the joint efforts underscore the significance of inter-agency collaboration in combating financial malfeasance and ensuring fiscal accountability.

“The blockade of the amount of Two Million Eight Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand One Hundred and Forty-Four cedis Eighty pesewas (GHC2,854,144.80) and the removal from Government Payroll of the corresponding deceased, retired, post vacators, the missing, and those whose whereabouts are unknown has saved the Republic an amount of Thirty-Four Million Two Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-Seven cedis Six pesewas (GHC34,249,737.6) for the 2024 financial year, and future savings of that amount (in addition to future periodic upward pay adjustments) for every year that the unearned-salaries-amount would have remained undetected but for the joint investigation and assessment by the OSP and CAGD of Government Payroll in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under Ghana Education Service and Tamale Teaching Hospital).”

The OSP's investigation further unveiled concerning details about the management of the payroll system in the Northern Region. 

Specifically, they discovered an unexpectedly high number of unauthorized and inactive validators overseeing the payroll of educational institutions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Of particular concern was the revelation that credentials belonging to deceased and retired validators were still actively employed in the validation process for these institutions. 

It added that misuse of credentials raised significant questions about the integrity and effectiveness of the validation procedures in place.

“The OSP and CAGD observed that the payroll system in the Northern Region (covering educational institutions under Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital) is attended to by an alarming number of unauthorised and inactive validators. Indeed, most of the management units were found to be validating persons through the use of unauthorised and inactive validators’ credentials."

“That is to say, the credentials of deceased and retired validators were being actively used in the validation process. Then again, transferred validators were purporting to engage in validation with their inactive previous credentials. It was also observed that transferred and released staff were being validated by their previous management units, creating the clear danger of unattested active or continuous engagement by the respective institutions.”