Deleted Ghost Names Saves GH₵111.2m

The deletion of close to 6,000 ghost names from the public payroll in the first three quarters of last year prevented the dissipation of GH₵111.2 million, Finance Minister Seth Terkper has said.

Mr Terkper said from January to September 2015 alone, 5,861 people were deleted, with cumulative savings for the nine months of about GH₵111,256,375.44.

The deletion of the ghost names was part of government’s payroll management system.

As part of the payroll clean-up process, the Controller and Accountant General uses the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (E-SPV) system that allows for real-time validation of each employee before the payment of monthly salaries.

Also, unit heads in public institutions now determine who should be paid for a particular month.