The government has initiated an investigation into payroll anomalies, including delays in returning persons to the payroll and claims of theft, according to Mr Thomas Ampem Nyarko, Deputy Minister of Finance.
“We’ve come across some allegations of payroll-related fraud issues that we have asked the investigation agencies to investigate.”
“Fortunately, because these things are done on the system, it is even possible for us to see who activated somebody, who deactivated the person, and all that,” he said.
Mr Ampem Nyarko spoke at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament’s public hearing in Parliament House on Monday.
He led the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant-General in answering concerns about breaches revealed in the 2024 Auditor-General’s report.
The PAC public hearing, which began on Monday, August 19, and will run until Wednesday, August 27, will look at the Auditor-General’s report on MDAs for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
Mr Ampem Nyarko’s remarks were prompted by Madam Abena Osei Asare, the Chairperson of PAC, who inquired about the lengthy process of restoring public servants to the payroll system after they were allegedly removed even after being validated, as well as how some rural banks allegedly refused to refund wrongful payments despite being notified.
Mr Kwasi Agyei, Controller and Accountant-General, informed the Committee that the government was seeking assistance from the Ministry of Finance in recovering unlawful payments from rural banks.
“You can’t have public funds sitting in your account even when your attention has been drawn to the fact that these are moneys that should go back to the government office,” he added.
According to the Controller, the government was also taking steps to improve openness and accountability in institutions, such as publishing phone numbers and email addresses where residents could report difficulties or complaints.
“Madam Chair, starting next week, we will advertise phone lines of our regional offices to take complaints of persons who may have issues with payroll and also take reports of payroll fraud, among others.”
“We are going to the extent of identifying validators and bringing them to book if they validate people who have not worked for a particular month,” he said.
The Controller urged public cooperation and accountability to ensure the payroll system’s integrity.
He also promised the public that the Controller and Accountant-General would take the problems raised seriously and try to guarantee that real employees were paid on time.
Source: newsthemegh.com