Dead Men On Payroll : 4 Ghosts Chopped Gh¢7.4m Pensions for 7 Years

A shocking pension scandal has emerged after the Auditor-General uncovered that GH¢7,494,975.34 was paid to four deceased pensioners between February 2019 and March 2026, despite having died years earlier.

The revelation is contained in the 2025 Auditor-General’s Report on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies (MDAs) for the year ended December 31, 2025.

According to the report, the four deceased pensioners continued receiving payments long after their deaths, in breach of Regulation 88 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), which governs the proper authorisation and cessation of public fund disbursements.

The payments were processed through the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department’s Pensions Directorate in the Greater Accra Region, raising serious questions about how the payments escaped detection for years.

The pension scandal forms part of broader payroll anomalies identified in the 2025 audit, with total payroll irregularities reaching nearly GH¢20 million. Overall, the Auditor-General uncovered financial irregularities amounting to more than GH¢5.26 billion in 2025, more than double the amount reported in 2024 and the highest figure recorded in the past five years.

Tax irregularities emerged as the biggest source of concern, soaring to GH¢4.8 billion, while cash irregularities reached GH¢410.7 million, and debts, loans and advances accounted for GH¢29.3 million.

Recovery Orders

The Auditor-General has ordered the Controller and Accountant-General to recover every pesewa of the GH¢7,494,975.34, together with interest calculated at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate, from the next-of-kin of the deceased pensioners.

Any money recovered must be paid into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana. This specialised account, established in June 2022, was created to track in real time the progress of recoveries made through expenditure disallowances, having previously faced challenges with the Controller and Accountant-General’s Suspense Account providing inadequate real-time information.

Legal Action Warning

The report also warns that if the funds cannot be recovered voluntarily from the next-of-kin, legal action should be initiated against both the bankers involved in processing the payments and the next-of-kin of the deceased pensioners.

The Auditor-General’s office has been actively pursuing recovery of misappropriated public funds, with the Recoveries Account accumulating GH¢31.5 million as of the end of March 2025, which has since been transferred to the Consolidated Fund in accordance with Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution.

Renewed Calls for Oversight

The latest discovery is one of several payroll irregularities uncovered in the 2025 audit, highlighting continuing weaknesses in public financial controls and renewing calls for tighter oversight to protect state funds.

President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that the Office of the Attorney-General is working with the Judicial Service to set up special courts to fast-track action on Auditor-General’s reports and ensure timely prosecution of individuals who abuse the public purse.

The Auditor-General continues efforts to strengthen accountability and safeguard public resources from leakages in Ghana’s pension administration system.