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Ghost names ‘busted’ on MDAs payroll …state loses over GH¢467.6m -Auditor -General
The Auditor-General has revealed that ghost names on public sector payroll in 21 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have cost the state GH¢467,634,792.
The agencies include the Local Government Service, Ministries of Finance, Communication, Education, Agriculture, Health, Information, Interior, Youth and Sports, Chieftaincy, Foreign Affairs and Roads and Highways,
The rest are Justice and Attorney General, Environmental, Science, Technology and Innovation, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Lands and Natural Resources, Trade and Industry, Local Government and Rural Development, and the Judicial Service.
The report, a copy of which has been presented to the Speaker of Parliament for action revealed that the ‘ghosts’ involved are 7,823.
Conducted between June 2018 and January 2020, the report, in line with Section 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584), was to provide an independent assurance on the overall payroll management systems of government.
Signed by the Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, the report recommended that the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD) terminated the contracts of the persons involved.
Apart from the above, the Auditor-General’s report also showed that employees who had passed the compulsory retirement age were still on the payroll.
“Our review showed that, names of 84 employees who had attained the statutory retirement age and had no contract extension were still on the payroll.
“To ensure full compliance with provisions of the Constitution, we urge the CAGD to ensure proper configuration of the payroll system,” the report advised.
On suspected case of personation, the Auditor-General said some employees used the academic certificate of others to secure employment into the public sector.
“Our examination showed that two or more employees shared same records. This became obvious as two or more bore same names and date of birth.
“Out of the 412 affected employees, our follow up to 46 sampled employees confirmed this assertion. We observed that whereas 23 of them were able to prove ownership of their academic certificates, 23 of them were unable to do so.
“To ascertain the authenticity of the outstanding 366 employees, we provided the details to the heads of the MDAs/MMDAs to investigate and submit a report for our further review within three months after the publication of this report.
“During our examination, we suspected a total of 19,203 academic certificates presented during the enumeration exercise to be fraudulent.
“To ascertain the authenticity of the certificates, we provided the respective awarding institutions with key control elements on the certificates examined, name, year of award, certificate serial number, and the name of the awarding instituting for confirmation.
“Though a total of 7,284 out of the 19,346 suspicious certificates were confirmed to be genuine, 61 were confirmed to be fake. They were unable to confirm 12,001 certificates owing to the challenges they encountered querying their data base on the variables provided.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
The Minority in Parliament has strongly objected to any planned merger or partnership between the government and Telecel, describing the deal as “technically, operationally, and financially unconscionable.”
Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, Matthew Nyindam, raised the concern during a media briefing in Parliament.
He questioned why both the Minister of Communications and Telecel would publicly announce a merger and then suddenly go silent on the matter.
“We object to any deal with Telecel by way of merger, absorption, or acquisition. This is a scheme to dispose of a national asset to fill private pockets,” Mr. Nyindam stated.
He argued that Telecel has not demonstrated any special technical or operational expertise that staff and management of AT (formerly AirtelTigo) do not already possess.
According to him, Telecel had earlier promised to invest $500 million after acquiring Vodafone Ghana but failed to do so, a situation he fears could repeat itself if the government allows another deal.
Mr. Nyindam claimed that Telecel was already indebted to the tune of $400 million, adding that the company only seeks to benefit from AT’s over three million customers to expand its own base without making any real investment.
“The government must not surrender the capacity of a state-owned company to a private entity through majority ownership. There is no clear plan to protect the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of workers,” he stressed.
The Minority Caucus is therefore calling on the government to halt any discussions or agreements with Telecel regarding the proposed merger, insisting that the deal is not in the national interest.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has suspended all fines issued by its Compliance Team on the country’s roads, effective Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Authority explained that the suspension follows feedback from the public and further consultations with stakeholders.
The Compliance Team’s enforcement exercise, which had been intensified in recent weeks, was aimed at ensuring that drivers and vehicles met all legal requirements before operating on the road.
However, the DVLA said it was pausing the activity to allow for more engagement and public education on the exercise before it is reintroduced.
While assuring the public of its commitment to promoting safety and compliance, the Authority emphasized that the suspension only affects the fines and charges being enforced by the Compliance Team.
It added that all legal requirements for drivers and vehicles to operate on Ghana’s roads remain in force.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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