Controller and Accountant General Kwasi Kwaning Bosompem has assured the public that there are no ghost names on the government’s payroll.
He made this statement during a gathering in Kumasi, attributing the transparency to a newly implemented digital solution.
This comprehensive digital solution has led to the introduction of the ‘No GhanaCard, No Pay’ policy by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), set to be implemented in March 2024.
The policy involves integrating the National Mechanised Payroll Database (CAGD) with the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.
Through this system, government employees undergo real-time biometric validation and verification, a process decentralised to CAGD verification centres nationwide.
“The payroll database has been an active database all these years. What it means is that we’ve gone through a process of putting interventions in place to make sure the payroll database is credible and that there would not be any instance where we’ll find an unauthorised person existing on the payroll and benefiting from the government’s resources.
On the specific subject of ghost names, Bosompem told journalists emphatically: “There are no ghost names [on government’s payroll] recently.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of the 2024 Controller and Accountant General’s Department Annual Conference in Kumasi.
Bawumia introduces new policy to clear ‘ghost’ names in government payroll
Just about a month ago, on January 10, 2024, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia unveiled a new government policy aimed at removing ‘ghost’ names from the public sector payroll system.
Speaking at the launch of the National Mechanised Payroll Database by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in Accra, Dr. Bawumia outlined the initiative.
He emphasised that to cleanse the government’s payroll of any ‘ghost names’, all government employees would be required to link their Ghana Card details to the payroll system.
“This linkage between the NIA database and the government payroll will significantly contribute to eliminating the incidence of ghost names on the government of Ghana’s mechanised payroll system, which has persisted for some time,” Dr Bawumia stated.