Ghana payroll system robust, says CAGD amid ‘unearned salary’ claims

The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has rejected allegations circulating on social media that a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence received unearned salaries amounting to GH¢427 million over a 29-month period.

The claims, attributed to an April 20 publication by The Fourth Estate, suggested that the payments averaged more than GH¢14 million per month and were captured in a recent Auditor-General’s report covering January 2023 to June 2025.

However, in a detailed response, the CAGD described the assertions as misleading and insisted that the structure of Ghana’s public payroll system makes such an occurrence impossible.

“The Government 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 under their conditions of service,” the Department stated.

It explained that salary payments are subject to multiple layers of validation, including approvals by heads of covered entities before any disbursement is made.

“Monthly salaries are paid to eligible employees on the Government of Ghana payroll after online validation of these payments by the Heads of the various Covered Entities,” the statement said.

According to the Department, additional internal checks are carried out to ensure accuracy and compliance with established pay structures.

“These monthly payments are further subjected to internal quality processes to validate each salary payment in terms of acceptable ranges with particular focus on monthly variances, validation of condition of service, above range analysis, validation of total payments to the bank, among others.”

On the strength of these safeguards, the CAGD maintained that the alleged overpayment could not have occurred under the current system.

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

The Department also urged caution in the publication and circulation of such claims, stressing the need for verification before dissemination.

“The CAGD maintains an open-door policy, and we therefore expect that any such claims should be verified before publication.”