Accra: Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister of Finance, says the Ghana Audit Service is expected to recover about GHS150.4 million of unearned salaries from separated staff who were flagged during the nationwide payroll audit.
According to Ghana News Agency, the audit, which is 91 percent complete, has so far identified 14,000 unidentified workers and 53,311 separated staff. These separated staff include individuals who are retired, resigned, terminated, on leave without pay, or deceased, yet they remain on the government payroll.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament during the 2025 mid-year budget review, the minister emphasized that the government would reinforce the monthly payroll validation process and impose strict penalties on those who validate 'ghosts' for salary payments. "Let me use this opportunity to strongly caution those who validate 'ghosts' across the public service that they will be personally liable for the loss of public funds," he warned.
The minister also mentioned an ongoing audit and validation of arrears and payables, valued at GHS68.7 billion as of the end of 2024, which has led to the rejection of GHS3.6 billion due to errors, duplications, and non-compliance with public finance management and procurement rules. "A total of GHS28.3 billion has been validated for payment; an amount of GHS562.6 million is without adequate supporting documents; and GHS27.3 billion is pending validation," he noted. The audit is expected to be completed by the end of August 2025, and findings will be reported to Parliament once finalized.
Additionally, Dr. Forson observed that public sector wages and salaries exceeded the budget by GHS1.3 billion in the first six months of the year. This overrun is largely attributed to 'last-minute' recruitment efforts in the education, health, and security sectors during the last quarter of 2024, which have significantly strained the compensation budget. "Ad-hoc reviews of conditions of service undertaken in previous years have distorted the Single Spine Pay Policy and further burdened the public wage bill," he explained.
To address these challenges, the government is implementing several measures, including regular nationwide staff payroll audits to cleanse government payrolls and the realignment of staff from overstaffed and defunct Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to areas with critical staffing needs. The establishment of the Independent Emoluments Commission (IEC) is being finalized as part of broader efforts to reform and reset public sector pay. Additionally, an executive directive will mandate all MDAs to seek approval from the Minister of Finance before making any commitments with financial implications on the payroll.