Background – Persistent Patterns and Painful Truths
For over 20 years, Ghana’s public payroll has faced recurring issues ghost names, overlapping audits, political interference, and unstable leadership, draining resources and weakening trust in financial oversight.
Despite biometric systems and digital reforms, ghost names persist across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, diverting funds from genuine public service. Political tensions spike during payroll audits, often turning professional reviews into partisan debates.
Multiple agencies CAGD, Internal Audit, FWSC conduct overlapping audits, causing inefficiencies and confusion. Yet, as former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo proved, strong leadership can drive real reform. His fearless audits earned praise and rattled the status quo.
In a recent interview with The High Street Journal, Domelevo rejected claims of political bias in the current audit, calling it a legal and necessary step toward accountability and urging public support for the Auditor-General’s independence.
Before we delve into the recent payroll brouhaha and views of the former Auditor-General, let’s go back in history to refresh our minds on some major payroll issues that became the talk of town;
Timeline of Payroll Issues in Ghana (2005–2025)
2005–2008: Early Signs of Payroll Challenges
- 2005: Auditor-General’s reports highlight the presence of ghost names on government payroll, especially in education and health sectors.
- 2007: Parliamentary debates raise concerns about double salary payments and payroll bloating in the public service.
2009–2012: Formal Reforms Begin
- 2009: Government initiates a Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) to help synchronize payroll data across ministries.
- 2010: Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) begins biometric registration of public sector workers to eliminate ghost names.
- 2012: Over 26,000 ghost names reportedly removed from payroll during a payroll sanitation exercise led by the CAGD.
2013–2016: Repeat Audits and High-Level Warnings
- 2013: Internal audits in various ministries, including Health and Education, find thousands of irregular salaries and payments to deceased workers.
- 2014: The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) intensifies monitoring of payroll after discrepancies following implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy.
- 2015–2016: Auditor-General reports again flag significant payroll fraud; some institutions fail to validate employees, leading to persistent ghost name issues.
2017–2020: Domelevo Era and Intensified Action
- 2017: Daniel Yaw Domelevo is appointed Auditor-General. He makes payroll auditing a top priority, arguing it’s a major leak in public finance.
- 2018: Domelevo uncovers irregularities in public payroll totaling millions of cedis; National Service Scheme audit identifies 22,000 ghost names.
- 2019: Auditor-General audits reveal inconsistencies in payroll validation across public universities, hospitals, and district assemblies.
- 2020: Domelevo clashes with political forces over persistent payroll audits and efforts to surcharge and prosecute public officials.
2021–2022: Post-Domelevo Challenges
- March 2021: Domelevo is controversially forced to retire, raising concerns about political interference in anti-corruption work.
- 2021: Payroll audits decline in prominence post-Domelevo. Civil society expresses worry about a slowdown in independent auditing.
2023–2024: Ghost Names Persist
- 2023: Biometric payroll audits in Education and Health reveal continued payment of salaries to non-existent staff.
- Late 2023: Calls grow for a unified payroll monitoring dashboard to be rolled out for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The Recent Controversy
A communique from the Office of the Auditor-General dated March 29,2025 cited by The High Street Journal announced a nationwide payroll audit of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA)s. The audit will include a headcount of all staff of all covered entities and hence heads of institutions must cooperate. This audit has sparked intense public debate following accusations by the minority in Parliament that it targets appointments made under the previous administration. Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assefuah, says the move is politically motivated and also politicizes the work of the Audit Service.
He says this audit seems like a machination tool “to flush out individuals employed by the previous administration who are perceived to be politically exposed, lacks merit and undermines the principles of fairness and due process. He continues to add, “Mr. Akuamoah Asiedu should have rejected this assignment outright, especially in the face of ongoing mass terminations that are creating anxiety among hardworking public servants.”
He further argues that this audit duplicates an existing mechanism already set in motion by the previous administration. He says Internal Auditors, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) have been conducting monthly reviews of public sector payrolls to identify and eliminate ghost names. For this reason, he believes there is absolutely no justification for this parallel exercise, which only wastes state resources, burdens the already stretched staff of the Audit Service, and sends the wrong signals to civil and public servants across the country.
The Legal Basis
But the former Auditor-General strongly disagrees with the position of the MP. He tells The High Street Journal that this audit is being carried out under Section 16 of the Audit Service Act. This provision, he says, empowers the Auditor-General to conduct “special audits or reviews” beyond the regular annual financial audits, based on risk and in the public interest.
“The Auditor-General, in addition to the annual audits, can conduct special audits. Yes, because the audit is driven by risk,” Mr. Domelevo stressed that if the Auditor-General thinks that there is wastage in payroll, liabilities, or vehicle management, etc, then a special audit is warranted irrespective of when the last one was conducted.
He likened the role of the Auditor-General to that of a police officer investigating a crime.
“Just like police going to do an investigation. You can’t say that you came and arrested somebody here last week or yesterday or this morning. So, why are you here again?,” he said.
High Risk of Payroll Leakages
The former Auditor-General also pointed to a pattern of payroll infractions, especially around political transitions, to justify the need for a fresh audit. Citing recent reports of ghost names uncovered in the National Service Scheme, Mr. Domelevo expressed concern about what might be found on the national payroll.
“And to be honest with you, the risk is high, though. Every time there is a change in government, ghost names increase. Because many times, getting to election year and etc., government opens or loses the control and people put a lot of ghost names on the payroll,” he indicated.
“If this small payroll at National Service is like that, then what about the national payroll?” he asked rhetorically, adding that a thorough audit could potentially save Ghana millions of cedis.
A Professional Obligation, Not a Witch-Hunt
Daniel Domelevo further emphasized that no credible Auditor-General would initiate a special audit without professional justification.
“Professionally, he will not agree to do the audit if he thinks there is no risk or justification. Unless he is convinced in his mind that the risks are real.”
In his view, the real issue is not whether the audit is recent or politically inconvenient but whether it protects the public purse.
“Let’s wait and see what the audit reveals. It might save Ghana a lot of money. At the end of the day, we may all be happy with what he has done,” he added.
Public Interest Paramount
He further cautioned against politicizing the Auditor-General’s mandate, noting that Article 187(2) of the 1992 Constitution mandates the office to audit all public institutions to ensure public funds are used for their intended purposes and deliver value for money.
He stressed that the constitution grants that in the performance of his functions, the Auditor-General is not under the direction and control of anyone. He indicated that he must be allowed to do his work freely.
“The Auditor-General may, in addition to the audit of public accounts, carry out, in the public interest, such special audits or reviews as he considers necessary, and shall submit a report on the audit or review undertaken to Parliament,” he quoted.
In the end, Daniel Domelevo likened the process to casting a fishing net. He said, “You don’t know how many fishes you’ll catch, but you must still go fishing.”
