Auditor-General apologizes over GH¢427m payroll error that wrongly named public servant

The Office of the Auditor-General has issued an unreserved apology after a significant error in its nationwide payroll audit wrongly implicated an individual in an alleged unearned salary exceeding GH¢427 million.

The audit, which covered the period from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025, had generated public controversy after sections of the media reported findings that appeared to link a named official to receiving an average of more than GH¢14 million per month in unearned salaries.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Auditor-General’s office clarified that the figure of GH¢427,995,661.40 was the result of a transpositional error and had never related to the person named in earlier reports.

“The GH¢427,995,661.40 relates to the Ministry of Education in respect of 3,476 unaccounted staff during the payroll audit,” the statement explained.

The Office extended its apology to the affected individual, Frank Oliver Kpodo, as well as to the government, the public, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD), acknowledging the reputational damage caused by the mistake.

“We extend our most sincere and unreserved apologies to Frank Oliver Kpodo for the distress and unwarranted public scrutiny this error may have caused,” the statement read.

CAGD Defends Payroll System Integrity

Meanwhile, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has rejected separate claims circulating on social media that a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence received similar amounts in unearned salaries.

The Department maintained that Ghana’s public payroll system incorporates multiple layers of safeguards designed to prevent such anomalies.

“The Government of Ghana payroll system runs on controls and automations which allow only approved pay structures by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to be processed for employees eligible by their conditions of service,” the Department said.

Monthly salary payments undergo strict validation procedures, including approvals by heads of covered entities and internal quality checks.

“It is therefore impossible under the current payroll arrangement to pay a government employee salary in excess of what is legally due that employee,” the statement emphasised.

The CAGD also called for caution in reporting sensitive financial information, urging that claims be verified before publication.