FWSC recovers GH₵348m from ghost workers on public payroll
Accra, Ghana - Nov 7, 2024 - A nationwide audit by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has led to the recovery of GH₵348 million from unauthorized entries on the public payroll.
In an interview wth Joy News, FWSC CEO Benjamin Arthur credited whistleblowers for helping identify fraudulent activities. “The whistleblowers have been very helpful. Issues that could not come to the attention of Fair Wages, we were able to address through the whistleblowers. What has happened now is that more people are becoming aware that someone is monitoring them,'' he stated.
The commission has recommended prosecution for individuals involved in siphoning public funds. Arthur noted that savings from the audit are substantial, also benefiting entitled individuals who weren't receiving certain benefits.
“The last estimate, done in August, was about GH₵348 million. Of course, there are also people who were entitled to certain benefits they weren’t receiving, and through payroll monitoring, we were able to detect those.”
“For the institutions where we detected some—let’s call them anomalies, as I can’t judge intent—we’ve sent their names and details to management for further action. It’s only if management fails to act that we consider reporting to other authorities.”
, “It will be, and beyond that, it’s not just about illegal names. If you’re inactive and no one knows where you are, you will be deactivated.”
“One of the areas that we have been very keen and we are also very optimistic waiting patiently that it will be part of the new pay policy is to be able to have strong measures to link pay to productivity.
"The President ordered that the Fair Wages and Public Services Commission should work together to ensure that this comes to fruition," he said.
A review of the current salary structure is underway, aiming to link productivity to pay. "We're working to ensure pay is linked to performance," Arthur said. A digital platform is being developed to align organizational goals with national objectives.
"We’ve also ensured that the Public Services Commission reviewed its manual to incorporate performance-based pay measures.”
“The engagement is ongoing, and once finalised, it will be presented to public sector workers for broader discussions. If this approach is accepted as the way forward, we’re prepared to implement it.”
“Not only will the heads of institutions have contracts with specified outputs linked to organisational and national objectives, but this alignment will also extend down to every individual within the organisation,” he added.
Source: Lead News Online
