Controller General, OSP collaborate to probe GH¢42 million unearned salaries, allowances

Thousand and seventy-two employees of ministries, departments and agencies across the country are being investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for earning unapproved salaries and allowances totalling GH¢42 million.

The infractions were uncovered following the submission of the Auditor-General’s report on Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for the 2024 financial year to Parliament, and its subsequent review by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Agyei, who disclosed this on the sidelines of this year’s Thanksgiving Service And Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, organised by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) in Accra last Thursday, said per the request by the PAC that necessary steps be taken to recover all unearned salaries and allowances owed by each employee to the state, the CAGD had decided to collaborate with the OSP to investigate, recover and prosecute beneficiaries of unearned salaries and allowances owed by each employee to the state.

“We have decided to own that GH¢42million to make sure that we recover all this money from them, and that is why we are collaborating with the OSP to get this money back.

I think going forward, other institutions should look at it.

The Auditor-General has done its work, submitted it to PAC, PAC interrogates and what happens? Is it the end of the report?” Mr Agyei asked and expressed hope that such infractions would not happen this year.

He, however, gave an assurance that anytime the Auditor-General's report was published, the CAGD would come out to own it and go after those mentioned.

Service

This year’s thanksgiving ceremony by the CAGD was on the theme: “Grateful hearts, faithful steps”, and it was graced by past Controller and Accountants-General, Deputy Controller and Accountants-General, other retired staff and the Auditor-General.

In attendance were the CLOSAG Band and the Accra Youth Choir,  which spiced the event with some soothing Christmas carols and music.

Audit infractions

Mr Agyei urged staff of the department to reflect on their responsibilities as custodians of the public purse, pointing out that “the Auditor-General’s report remains one of the clearest mirrors of our performance as a department and as public officers”.

To further reduce audit infractions, he advised staff of the department to make compliance a daily discipline and not an afterthought.

That, Mr Agyei explained, was because audit infractions often arose not from lack of knowledge, but from inattention to established rules and procedures.

He, therefore, urged every officer of the department to strictly adhere to the Public Financial Management Act, Financial  Administration Regulations and Treasury instructions.

He said timely reconciliation of accounts must be treated as a priority and not a routine chore, and added that officers must ensure all transactions were properly supported, filed and retrievable.

“Let integrity guide our actions even when no one is watching. As public servants, we must remember that we answer not only to auditors, but to Ghanaians and to God.

Challenges

While acknowledging some challenges encountered with respect to the management of payroll this year, Mr Agyei said, “We cannot have a credible payroll management system without integration with a biometric verification system.

To that end, he said, “The integration of our payroll system with the National Identification Authority (NIA) biometric verification platform will commence next year.”

He said the successful integration would significantly enhance the payroll onboarding and continuous verification process for government employees.

He added that the success of the reforms of the department depended not only on policies and systems but on the daily choices made as public servants.

“Each of us must see ourselves not merely as employees but as stewards of a sacred national trust.

The figures we process, the systems we manage and the decisions we take affect the lives of millions of Ghanaians.

As we enter 2026, let us move forward with unity of purpose, clarity of vision and excellence in execution,” Mr Agyei advised.