Some 1.8 billion cedis have been paid to 2000 ghosts on the public service payroll between January 2000 and January 2002. But Deputy Auditor-General, John Attuah Lartey thinks even though it might not be possible to completely kill all ghosts, “it’s probable that we can reduce their existence to the unusual isolated cases.”

The Minister for Finance early this year instructed the Auditor-General’s department to conduct a three-phase head count on the public service payroll. The first phase comprises the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the second is Metropolitan, Municipalities and Districts (MMDs) and the third on subvented organizations.

The Network Herald got to know that these 2000 names were discovered after the completion of the first and the second phases of the head count and that is about 30 per cent of the exercise done. The exercise actually started in December last year. Mr. John Attuah Lartey, in charge of central government audit told the Network Herald that these “ghosts” who vacated their positions through dismissals, redundance, death and retirement continued to withdraw from their accounts, which under normal circumstances is illegal.

He said, at the Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital for instance, 20 per cent of thenames are ghosts who consume a total amount of 925 million cedis annually. Mr. Lartey said ghost names gathered so far had been given to the Controller and Accountant-General to delete. A close source at the Ministry of Finance also confirmed 21 ghost names three of whom have refunded 8,130,000 cedis to the ghost workers salaries account.

The source added that in the finance sector, ghosts wages paid so far come up to about 300 million cedis. The source added that most of the ministries had not finished with the exercises, however he indicated that Ministry of Education would come up with the highest number of ghosts names since it has a much broader work force.