FWSC Recovers GHS 348 Million in Public Payroll Fraud Crackdown
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has reclaimed GHS 348 million from fraudulent entries on Ghana’s public payroll, following a nationwide audit aimed at removing unauthorised names from the system.
FWSC Chief Executive Officer, Benjamin Arthur, disclosed that the recovered amount underscores the scale of the financial loss due to payroll fraud.
In an interview on Thursday, Mr Arther revealed that a recommendation has been made to the Attorney-General to prosecute those involved in diverting public funds.
He credited whistleblowers for their instrumental role, asserting that, “Issues that could not come to the attention of Fair Wages, we were able to address them through the whistleblowers.” He noted that increased monitoring has put more people on alert, with the latest payroll audit—conducted in August—leading to GHS 348 million in savings.
The audit not only targeted fraudulent entries but also identified public sector employees who were not receiving entitled benefits. Regarding corrective measures, Mr. Arthur stated that anomalies detected were reported to institutional management for immediate action, with possible escalation if they fail to respond.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have prosecutorial powers, so we can’t take legal action ourselves,” he added.
Linking Pay to Productivity
The FWSC is also set to review the existing salary structure to align pay with productivity. According to Mr. Arthur, this initiative is part of a broader policy to strengthen links between compensation and performance across the public sector, following a directive from the President.
“A national committee and technical committee have completed their work, producing reports on the implementation of this productivity-linked pay policy,” Mr. Arthur confirmed. He added that the Public Services Commission has revised its manual to incorporate performance-based pay, with ongoing consultations to gain public sector worker support.
To support this productivity-focused framework, the FWSC is developing a digital platform that will allow organisations to align their targets with national objectives. This alignment, Mr. Arthur explained, would cascade through each level of public sector institutions, with contractual obligations tied to organisational and national outputs.
