By Nadia Ntiamoah
The Audit Service Ghana has been forced to issue a public apology and correction following significant inaccuracies in its widely publicised payroll audit report, a development that has raised fresh concerns about data integrity in public financial oversight.
The controversy began after investigative outlet The Fourth Estate published findings from the Auditor-General’s report highlighting alleged payroll irregularities across government institutions.
Central to the report was a claim that a staggering GH¢427 million had been attributed to Frank Oliver Kpodo, a former Director of Procurement at the Ministry of Defence.
However, in a swift reversal, the Audit Service clarified that the figure was the result of a “transpositional error,” explaining that the actual amount linked to Kpodo is GH¢422,920.01—not hundreds of millions as initially reported.
In a statement signed by its Right to Information Officer, Frederick Lokko, the Audit Service acknowledged the mistake and issued an unreserved apology to Kpodo, admitting that the error had subjected him to undue public scrutiny and reputational harm.
The Service also extended its apologies to the Government of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for the misinformation.
Further clarification revealed that the GH¢427,995,661.40 figure had been wrongly assigned and actually pertains to the Ministry of Education. The amount represents salaries linked to 3,476 unaccounted-for staff identified during the nationwide payroll audit.
The implications of the error extend far beyond a single individual. The Audit Service released a revised table covering 34 Ministries and Departments, confirming that more than GH¢800 million in payroll discrepancies had been identified.
Crucially, it emerged that figures attributed to 27 out of the 34 institutions had been altered due to similar transpositional mistakes in the original report submitted to Parliament.
Among the notable revisions, the Ministry of Health’s figure surged from GH¢5.88 million to over GH¢166 million, while the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources saw a drastic reduction from GH¢84.7 million to GH¢8.2 million.
The Judicial Service, Office of Government Machinery, and several other agencies also experienced significant adjustments in their reported figures. These widespread corrections have intensified scrutiny over the reliability of the initial audit, particularly given its potential impact on public trust and policy decisions.
Meanwhile, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has sought to reassure the public, insisting in a separate statement that it is “impossible” for any government employee to receive salaries they have not legitimately earned, pushing back against perceptions of systemic payroll fraud.
In response to the revelations and subsequent corrections, The Fourth Estate has withdrawn its original publication, acknowledging the revised data provided by the Audit Service.
