Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, the Interior Minister, has disclosed that GH¢124,552 in salary arrears wrongly paid to 23 Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officers has been fully recovered.
Muntaka revealed that the GH¢124,552 salary overpayments have been fully paid into the Auditor-General’s recoveries account.
According to him, the officers had received the money as bulk payments, making it difficult for them to identify the period covered by the arrears.
Speaking before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 20, Muntaka stated, “I’m happy to say that we’ve received all the 124,552 money and it’s been paid into the Auditor-General’s account”.
He further argued that the officers had not deliberately misrepresented information or engaged in wrongdoing to obtain the money/
“In fairness, Madam Chair, I think that the idea that they should pay with interest is not fair, because they did nothing wrong,” he said.
The development follows an audit that uncovered irregularities in salary arrears paid to the officers at the Elubo post, who were upgraded to Assistant Immigration Control Officer I on July 18, 2023.
The audit found that although the officers’ upgrade took effect on July 18, 2023, their salary arrears were calculated from March 2023, resulting in the overpayment.
In related news, an analysis of Auditor-General’s reports by The Fourth Estate has uncovered how GH¢88.33 million was paid from the taxpayer purse as unearned salaries by State institutions across Ghana between 2021 and 2025.
The analysis revealed that the money went to non-existent employees and individuals who were no longer entitled to receive salaries from the state. These included people who had resigned, retired or died, as well as individuals who had never existed on the payroll.
The affected institutions comprised Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country.
According to The Fourth Estate’s analysis, MDAs accounted for GH¢84.97 million of the total amount, while the assemblies paid another GH¢3.36 million in unearned salaries.
The ministries cited in the audit reports included Health, Finance, Education, the Interior, Transport, Local Government, and Trade and Industry. Others were the Ministries of Justice, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Food and Agriculture, and Lands and Natural Resources.
Also, several public agencies and services were implicated, including the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ho Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, the Electoral Commission, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Judicial Service, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Education Service across all regions.
Other institutions included the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the School Feeding Programme, the Department of Social Welfare, and regional and district health facilities and polyclinics.
The reports attributed the payments to failures by human resource administrators and payroll validators to update staff records when employees left their positions.
As a result, salaries continued to be paid into accounts associated with deceased officers and other individuals who were no longer eligible to receive public funds.
Other irregularities identified included the payment of 100 per cent salaries to staff under interdiction, although they were entitled to only 50 per cent, and continued salary payments to workers absent without leave.
According to the report, some employees were also reportedly placed on salary grades higher than their qualifications or positions justified.
Similar problems affected MMDAs with the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, and a lack of accountability contributed to the GH¢3.36 million in unearned salary payments.
@ghnow_ The aunt of Nana Yaw, popularly known as Terry/Dinero, has vowed to summon those accused of killing him before the water gods to face spiritual consequences. #GHNow #fyp ♬ sonido original – el copaneco
@ghnow_ Emotional scenes at the Teshie District Court as a friend of Nana Yaw, popularly known as Terry/Dinero, breaks down in tears during proceedings in the murder case. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Kofi Kinaata
