The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has refuted claims circulating on social media regarding a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence allegedly receiving unearned salaries amounting to GH¢427 million over a 29-month period, asserting that Ghana’s payroll system renders such payments “impossible.”
This statement follows The Fourth Estate’s connection of the CAGD to a recent Auditor-General’s report that spans from January 2023 to June 2025, which implied that the official in question received an average of over GH¢14 million monthly in salaries that were not owed.
However, in a statement released on April 20, 2026, the CAGD rejected these allegations and upheld the integrity of the government payroll system.
“The Government of Ghana payroll system operates on controls and automations that permit only approved pay structures by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to be processed for employees who meet their conditions of service,” the department stated.
It clarified that salaries are processed only after several layers of validation, which include approval from heads of relevant entities and internal checks aimed at identifying irregularities and preventing overpayments.
“Monthly salaries are disbursed to eligible employees on the Government of Ghana payroll following online validation… These monthly disbursements are additionally subjected to internal quality processes to confirm each salary payment,” it added.
The CAGD further emphasized that its systems incorporate safeguards such as variance analysis, condition-of-service verification, and bank-level payment reconciliation to guarantee accuracy in payroll processing.
“It is thus impossible under the current payroll framework to compensate a government employee with a salary exceeding what is legally owed to that employee,” the statement concluded.
The department also encouraged that such assertions be verified prior to publication, advocating for increased caution in reporting on sensitive financial issues involving public funds.
The controversy has sparked a fresh public discussion regarding payroll accountability and the trustworthiness of audit-related disclosures, despite the CAGD’s assertion that current controls are adequate to avert systemic overpayment.
