Ghost names on payroll did not get there by themselves; punish officers responsible – Catholic Bishop

The Catholic Bishop of Koforidua Diocese, Most Rev Joseph Afrifa-Agyekum, has called for the arrest and prosecution of officers who planted the ghost names into the government payroll.

He explained that the names on the payroll did not get there by themselves therefore, persons who ought to have known better should be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Speaking in interview with TV3’s Eastern Region correspondent, Yvonne Neequaye on Sunday April 17, he said “with the ghost names, I am really surprised that every now and then we come up with this same issue that we have cleared some thousands of of names from the payroll.

“My question is, how did the names get there and who are the directors or who are the officers who are supposed to have known that these are not our staff? In the long round, who is collecting the money at the end of the day. So, when you clear these names what happens to those who managed the get the names there?”

Recently, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta said the government would conclude on-going measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by end December 2022.

He said this while announcing measures to deal with the challenges facing the country on Thursday March 24.

“Government will conclude on-going measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by end
December 2022;

“prioritize ongoing public projects over new projects. This is to enhance the efficient use of limited public funds over the period by finishing ongoing or stalled but approved projects; reduce expenditure on all meetings and conferences by 50%, effective immediately.”

He further revealed that with immediate effect, the Government has imposed a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year.

He said this will affect all new orders, especially 4-wheel drives.

“With immediate effect, Government has imposed a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year. This will affect all new orders, especially 4-wheel drives. We will ensure that the overall effect is to reduce total vehicle purchases by the public sector by at least 50 percent for the period,” he said at a press conference on Thursday March 24 while announcing measures introduced to deal with the economic challenges.