[Ghana] Bishop wants consequences for officers responsible for ghost names on payroll

The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua Diocese in Accra, Ghana, the Most Rev Joseph Afrifa-Agyekum, has called for the arrest and prosecution of officers who entered ghost names into the government payroll, Modern Ghana reports.

The Bishop said the names on the payroll did not get there by themselves and people who ought to have known better should be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Speaking in an interview with TV3’s Eastern Region correspondent, Yvonne Neequaye on April 17, Bishop Afrifa-Agyekum said “With the ghost names, I am really surprised that every now and then we come up with this same issue that we have cleared some thousands of names from the payroll.

“My question is, how did the names get there and who are the directors or who are the officers who are supposed to have known that these are not our staff? In the long round, who is collecting the money at the end of the day. So, when you clear these names what happens to those who managed the get the names there?”

Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta recently said that the government would conclude ongoing measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by the end of December 2022.

He made the commitment while announcing measures to deal with the challenges facing the country, on March 24.

“Government will conclude on-going measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by end of December 2022; prioritize ongoing public projects over new projects. This is to enhance the efficient use of limited public funds over the period by finishing ongoing or stalled but approved projects; reduce expenditure on all meetings and conferences by 50%, effective immediately.”

The minister went on the reveal that, with immediate effect, the Government had imposed a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year.

Source: Modern Ghana

(Quotes via original reporting)

The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua Diocese in Accra, Ghana, the Most Rev Joseph Afrifa-Agyekum, has called for the arrest and prosecution of officers who entered ghost names into the government payroll, Modern Ghana reports.

The Bishop said the names on the payroll did not get there by themselves and people who ought to have known better should be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Speaking in an interview with TV3’s Eastern Region correspondent, Yvonne Neequaye on April 17, Bishop Afrifa-Agyekum said “With the ghost names, I am really surprised that every now and then we come up with this same issue that we have cleared some thousands of names from the payroll.

“My question is, how did the names get there and who are the directors or who are the officers who are supposed to have known that these are not our staff? In the long round, who is collecting the money at the end of the day. So, when you clear these names what happens to those who managed the get the names there?”

Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta recently said that the government would conclude ongoing measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by the end of December 2022.

He made the commitment while announcing measures to deal with the challenges facing the country, on March 24.

“Government will conclude on-going measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by end of December 2022; prioritize ongoing public projects over new projects. This is to enhance the efficient use of limited public funds over the period by finishing ongoing or stalled but approved projects; reduce expenditure on all meetings and conferences by 50%, effective immediately.”

The minister went on the reveal that, with immediate effect, the Government had imposed a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year.

Source: Modern Ghana

(Quotes via original reporting)