Following the making of the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report which had revealed unimaginable levels of financial irregularities in various sectors of the economy with the Education sector being the worst, the Member of Parliament for Kpando Constituency, Honourable Sebastian Dey is urging for full utilization of the A-G’s powers to recoup all unearned salaries.
Against the backdrop of the unfortunate discoveries in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report where the gross amount of payroll irregularities has skyrocketed from Ghc14.5m in 2023 to a staggering Ghc57.3 m in 2024, the Kpando Member of Parliament says that if effective controls are put in place, all these infractions will be curtailed.
Payroll irregularities rose from GHS 4,487,495.00 in 2020 to GHS 5,601,611.00 in 2021 jumped to GHS 14,254,754.00 in 2022 and GHS 14,455,712 .00 and jumped astronomically to GHS 57,823,696.00
The rise in payroll irregularities, he indicated has reached an unimaginable height of over 300 percent, a situation he believes must not be allowed to fester to the detriment of the Ghanaian people.
Speaking to journalists in parliament, the lawmaker was with strong conviction that when control measures are adopted, systemic failure that allows for such infractions to occur will be properly checked.
The legislator who has vast knowledge in financial management utterly bemoaned the phenomenon where state funds are dissipated with impunity by civil servants especially leveraging payroll as a smooth path.
According to the legislator, at the heart of the high level of payroll irregularities is dishonesty on the part of duty-bearers in charge of the system.
He could not fathom noting that a particular able-bodied person who took allowance meant for disabled or a physically challenged person for a period of 36 months, which he described as a clear case of dishonesty.
For some people, the Kpando Member of Parliament disclosed deliberately received salaries which were a grade or two above their grade.
The MP observed that most of the dishonesty payroll irregularities were perpetuated by senior-ranked people, a sad development which he said must be checked and discontinued.
Story by Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor
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