By Mercy Darko
More than 500 people have been identified on the government payroll with multiple Controller and Accountant General Department employee account numbers and identities.
There are also 148, 060 people on the payroll whose identities have not been linked to the Ghana Card.
These anomalies were identified during the first phase of matching employee database with the National Identification Authority by the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD).
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said this at the opening of the three-day Internal Audit Conference in Accra.
He said government is committed to eliminating ghost names on the payroll, through stringent measures to enhance efficiency in public finance management.
This year’s Internal Audit Conference is focused on Injecting Fiscal Discipline in Resource Mobilisation and Utilisation for Sustainable Development: The Role of Internal Auditors.
Speaking on the theme, Vice President Bawumia outlined several measures to enhance transparency and accountability in public finance management. He mentioned that through linkages of database, more ghost names are being eliminated from the payroll and have been identified with multiple controller account numbers.
He said the role of internal Auditors cannot be overemphasised, pledging government’s commitment to ensure that the Internal Audit Bill is passed.
In an opening remark, the Chairperson for the occasion, Prof. Olivia A. T. Frimpong, called for re-orientation of the mindset of all especially the youth to ensure fiscal discipline as there is more to life than money. She appealed to the government to support the passing of the Internal Audit Bill into law to enhance the work of internal auditors.
In a welcome address, the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr. Eric Oduro Osae said that the Agency has over the past few years put in place mechanisms to reduce waste, especially on the government payroll.
These include the monthly cleanup of ghost names from the payroll and ensuring the compliance of PFM at all MMDAs. Dr Oduro Osae pleaded with government to equip the agency with the needed logistics to enhance their work and make them more independent.
The IAA established by the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658) has the mandate of ensuring that natural resources are not only adequately safeguarded but used in the most effective ways for accelerated development.
