The Office of the Auditor-General has issued an apology after a major error in its nationwide payroll audit report wrongly linked a public servant to an unearned salary exceeding GH₵427 million.
The clarification follows the nationwide payroll audit covering the period January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025, after a media report cited Frank Oliver Kpodo as having received GH₵427,995,661.40 in unearned salary.
The figure was first highlighted in a report by The Fourth Estate, which suggested that Mr Kpodo received an average of more than GH¢14 million monthly in unearned payments.
In a statement on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the Auditor-General’s office said the figure resulted from a transpositional error and did not relate to Mr Kpodo.
“The GH₵427,995,661.40 relates to the Ministry of Education in respect of 3,476 unaccounted staff during the payroll audit,” the statement said.
The Auditor-General extended an apology to Mr Kpodo, the government, citizens, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, acknowledging the impact of the error.
“We extend our most sincere and unreserved apologies to Frank Oliver Kpodo for the distress and unwarranted public scrutiny this error may have caused.”
Meanwhile, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has rejected claims circulating on social media that a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence received unearned salaries totalling GH¢427 million over 29 months, insisting Ghana’s payroll system prevents such occurrences.
“The Government of Ghana payroll system runs on controls and automations which allow only approved pay structures by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to be processed for employees eligible by their conditions of service,” the department said.
It explained that salaries go through multiple layers of validation, including approvals by heads of covered entities and internal checks to prevent irregularities and overpayments.
“Monthly salaries are paid to eligible employees on the Government of Ghana payroll after online validation… These monthly payments are further subjected to internal quality processes to validate each salary payment,” it added.
CAGD denies GH¢427m salary irregularity report, defends payroll system
