No More Excuses: Jail the Ghost Name Enablers – Dalex Boss Warns
Joe Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, has issued a blistering critique of successive government’s continued failure to decisively deal with the long-standing issue of “ghost names” on Ghana’s public sector payroll, warning that the persistence of the problem reveals deeper weaknesses in enforcement and accountability across the civil service.
Speaking during a NorvanReports X Space discussion hosted in collaboration with the Economic Governance Platform (EGP) and the Ghana Anti – Corruption Collation, Mr Jackson did not mince words, describing the situation as a “recurring scandal” and a symbol of Ghana’s systemic governance failures.
“The issue of ghost names is always going to be a continuous battle,” he said. “Until we get a more efficient way of verifying the payroll month-on-month, the temptation to keep names of people who have passed on, on the payroll will still be there.”
His comments came in the wake of disturbing revelations presented in the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. According to the Finance Minister, a recent payroll audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service has identified over 14,000 public workers who could not be verified, with an additional 53,311 separated staff, comprising retirees, the deceased, those on leave without pay or resigned, still drawing salaries.
The report, which covered payroll data between 2023 and 2024, has thus far completed 91% of its audit. Preliminary findings suggest that GH¢150.4 million in unearned salaries were disbursed to individuals no longer in the service. The Ministry of Finance has since promised to implement monthly payroll validation protocols, with strict sanctions for officials who approve ineligible names.
“Public officials who validate ghost workers will be held personally liable for the loss of public funds,” Dr. Forson warned in Parliament. “Such fraudulent activity will not be tolerated going forward.”
Jackson: “Did the Ghosts Put Their Names There by Themselves?”
While welcoming the audit’s findings and proposed reforms, Mr Jackson remained deeply sceptical of the government’s willingness to follow through on its commitments.
“Were the ghost names that have been found verified? If they were, who did? And who has been prosecuted for verifying ghost names?” he asked pointedly. “Did the ghosts put their names there by themselves? Who in Controller and Accountant General’s Department was responsible? Who in the ministries, departments and agencies was responsible?”
He stressed that the lack of prosecution, despite overwhelming evidence of fraud, was indicative of Ghana’s failure to treat corruption with the seriousness it deserves.
Mr Jackson referenced prosecutions currently ongoing at the National Service Secretariat, arguing that similar measures must be extended to all sectors of the public payroll.
“Once again, we’re doing the Ghanaian thing, announce that ghost names have been found, don’t prosecute anybody, and then in a year’s time, have another exercise,” he lamented.
More than just a payroll irregularity, Mr Jackson said the persistence of ghost names reflected entrenched inefficiencies in Ghana’s public financial management systems. He noted instances where identities of deceased public servants had been used to secure loans from financial institutions, further complicating the extent of the fraud.
He called for payroll validation to be institutionalised as a monthly, technology-driven process, arguing that episodic audits were simply inadequate.
“Fighting ghost names should be a systematic thing, not a one-off exercise,” he noted.
In his view, tackling payroll fraud effectively demands not only digital solutions, but also political will, transparency, and most critically, accountability.
For the 2025 fiscal year, the government has earmarked GH¢76.6 billion in compensation payments for public sector workers, an allocation that Mr Jackson warned must be vigilantly protected.
He urged government to prioritise real-time data validation, introduce biometric integrations, and publish an annual audit report on payroll verification that includes names of officials found culpable for fraud.
“Unless people are named, shamed, and punished, this country will continue losing hundreds of millions of cedis,” he concluded.
