Controller and Accountant-General’s Department signage
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has suspended the salaries of 5,673 government employees as part of a nationwide effort to clean up the public payroll and protect state funds.
This development follows the 2025 Nationwide Payroll Headcount Exercise conducted by the Ghana Audit Service, which uncovered that 53,311 individuals listed on the government’s payroll were “separated staff”.
Separated staff means these individuals were no longer in active service but were still receiving salaries.
While 47,638 of those separated staff have already been removed from the payroll, the remaining 5,673 salaries processed for payment in July 2025 have now been suspended pending further investigations.
The CAGD has directed heads of institutions across the public sector to initiate recovery procedures for any unearned salaries paid due to wrongful validation.
Additionally, any affected employee whose salary has been stopped but is still at post is required to obtain a letter from their institution addressed to the Auditor-General, with a copy sent to the Ministry of Finance.
This documentation will allow for proper remedial action to reinstate legitimate cases.
This audit initiative is part of a broader effort by the government to promote transparency and accountability in payroll management and reduce leakages from the national budget.
SA/EB
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