Auditor-General cites Ho Technical University for paying GH¢53,000 unearned salary to five former staff

The Auditor-General has cited Ho Technical University for causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢53,401.22.

The loss according to the Auditor-General’s Report for the year ended 2023 occurred after the University paid various amounts in unearned salaries to five of its former stay and a staff on study leave without pay.

“Regulation 92 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) states that, “the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall ensure the immediate stoppage of payment of salary to public servants and notify the Controller and Accountant-General on the: death, conviction & sentence to imprisonment, dismissal or relief of post, leave without pay, vacation of post, and resignation or retirement of an employee.” The head of the covered entity is, thereafter, required to take the necessary action to retrieve any unearned compensation occasioned by any of the occurrences listed.

“We noted that five (5) staff of the University who vacated post and one (1) other staff on study leave without pay were wrongfully paid a total of GH¢53,401.22 as unearned salaries for the year under review,” the Auditor-General revealed in its report published on its website.

The report noted that the payment of these unearned salaries resulted in a loss of GH¢53,401.22 to the State.

The Auditor-General has subsequently recommended to the Management of Ho Technical University to take steps to recover the amount of GH¢53,401.22 from all staff involved and pay same into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana.