Following a discovery of unearned salaries of GH¢5,574.12 paid to two workers of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC), Mr. James Klutse Avedzi, has indicated that the Acting Chief Director of Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Mr. Justin Frimpong Kodua must ensure that the amount is fully recovered.
In his statement, he pointed out that the Auditor-General recommended that the amount of unearned salaries of the two YEA workers must be recovered to the chest of the state.
He cautioned that if the Acting Chief Director failed to comply with the recommendation, he would be surcharged.
Following a question by the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Mr. Samuel Nartey George, Mr. Justin Frimpong Kodua, explained that there was an embargo on one of the workers’ salary when the agency was informed of his demise.
He disclosed that what the agency has not done is to instruct the banks of the two workers to repay the monies into the consolidated fund of the state.
Mr. Frimpong however admitted that the instruction to place an embargo on the unearned salary of the deceased, the late Mr. Simon Sowu, did not get to the Controller and Account-General’s Department on time.
“I Have instructed that the Schedule Officer should write to the bank of the deceased for the money to be lodged into the consolidated fund. The anomaly for the payment of the deceased since 2016, has been detected and the schedule officer has been instructed to immediately write to the bank of the deceased to effect(sic) the anomaly, he revealed”.
Statutory basis for immediate stoppage of unearned salary
Regulation 297 (1) of the Financial Administration Regulation 2004, (LI 1802) requires ” a head of department to cause the immediate stoppage of payment of salary to the public servant when the public servant has retired, resigned or vacated post”
Auditor General’s report on unearned salaries
According to the Auditor-General’s report at paragraph 793 on page 207, a staff of the YEA, Ms. Gloria Edusei who resigned from active service in June had her July and August, 2015 salaries of GH3,998 paid to her account at Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
Similarly, one Mr. Simon Sowu with staff number 73762 of the Labour Department, head office, Accra who died in active service on September 4, 2016, had his September and October salaries of GH1,576.12 paid to his account at ADB, Adabraka branch.
The report drew a conclusion that management’s failure to ensure prompt deletion of the names from the payroll after separation resulted in the payment of the unearned salaries.
The report again indicated that management failed to instruct their banks to withhold and pay to the government chest, all unearned salaries.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
