The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) have announced that their efforts saved Ghana a substantial sum of GH¢34,249,737.6 for the 2024 financial year.

The savings were achieved after a review of the government payroll in the Northern Region, which included educational institutions under the Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The investigation began after the OSP identified and blocked "ghost names" in January 2024, which led to the recovery of GH¢2,854,144.80.

In Phase 1, Volume 1 of their investigative report, dated Monday, 20 May, the OSP highlighted that these unearned salaries would have remained undetected without their joint scrutiny and assessment.

"The blockade of GH¢2,854,144.80 and the removal from the government payroll of corresponding deceased, retired, post vacators, the missing, and those whose whereabouts are unknown, has saved the Republic an amount of GH¢34,249,737.6 for the 2024 financial year. This sum represents future savings of that amount (in addition to future periodic upward pay adjustments) for every year that the unearned salaries would have remained undetected but for the joint investigation and assessment by the OSP and CAGD," the report stated.

The OSP found that the payroll system in the Northern Region, covering educational institutions under the Ghana Education Service and the Tamale Teaching Hospital, was managed by a surprisingly high number of unauthorized and inactive validators.

The investigation revealed that credentials belonging to deceased and retired validators were actively used in the validation process. Transferred validators were also found to be engaging in validation with their inactive previous credentials. Additionally, transferred and released staff were still being validated by their former management units, posing a risk of unauthorized continuous engagement by these institutions.

The OSP declared their intention to extend the investigation to the remaining 15 regions under Phase 1 of the exercise.

"The OSP and CAGD will proceed by extending the investigation to the remaining fifteen regions under Phase I of the exercise," the report concluded.