Accra: Four deceased pensioners were paid a total of GHS7,494,975.34 in pension benefits over a seven-year period after their deaths, according to the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana: Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies (MDAs) for the Year Ended 31 December 2025.
According to Ghana Web, the finding is part of the Auditor-General's report, which recorded GHS5.266 billion in financial irregularities across Ministries, Departments, and Other Agencies (MDAs) for the year ended December 31, 2025. The payments were made between February 2019 and March 2026, contrary to Regulation 88 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), which mandates that salaries for deceased public officers should cease the day following their death.
The report noted: "We noted that four deceased pensioners were paid a total amount of GHS7,494,975.34 between February 2019 and March 2026, contrary to Regulation 88 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378)." The anomaly was identified during the audit of the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, Pensions Directorate, Greater Accra Region.
The Auditor-General recommended that the Controller and Accountant-General recover the amount paid to the deceased pensioners. The report further stated: "We recommended that the Controller and Accountant-General recover the total amount of GHS7,494,975.34 together with interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate from the next-of-kin of the deceased pensioners and pay same into the Auditor-General's Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana."
If the amount could not be recovered, the Auditor-General suggested legal action. "Failing this, legal action should be instituted against the bankers and the next-of-kin of the deceased pensioners," the report added.
The payments were identified as part of payroll irregularities, totaling GHS19,924,710, recorded during the audit. The payments to the four deceased pensioners formed part of this amount. The report was submitted to Parliament under Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution and the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584), covering the financial operations of Ministries, Departments, and Other Agencies for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The Auditor-General urged the Controller and Accountant-General to implement the recommendations contained in the report and recover all amounts found to have been improperly paid in accordance with the applicable laws and financial regulations.