Auditor-General: GH¢7.5m Paid to Dead Pensioners
Audit findings show four deceased pensioners received a total of GH¢7.5 million in payments after their deaths, according to the Auditor-General’s latest report on public financial management. The payments spanned a seven-year period from February 2019 to March 2026, violating regulations that require salary and pension disbursements to cease immediately after a beneficiary’s death. This specific financial leakage forms part of a much larger pattern of administrative oversight identified within the broader scope of the 2025 fiscal year audit.
Public institutions recorded GH¢5.2 billion in irregularities. The discovery is part of the Auditor-General’s annual review of public accounts, which revealed over GH¢5.2 billion in financial irregularities across government ministries and agencies. The report examined records from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the Pensions Directorate in the Greater Accra Region, scrutinizing the mechanisms used to disburse public funds to ensure compliance with established financial standards.
Regulation 88 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), explicitly states that payments to deceased public officers must stop from the day after their death unless another law provides otherwise. The audit confirmed that four individuals received payments totaling GH¢7,494,975.34 during the specified timeframe, a figure that forms part of broader payroll irregularities. The Auditor-General noted that this specific breach occurred despite clear statutory provisions designed to prevent such financial losses.
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Total payroll-related irregularities identified in the audit amounted to GH¢19.9 million. The payments to the deceased pensioners contributed to this sum, highlighting specific gaps in how government records are maintained and updated. These figures illustrate that the issue extends beyond a single isolated incident, representing a systemic challenge in the verification of beneficiary status within the public payroll system.
The report did not identify the specific identities of the pensioners or their beneficiaries, focusing instead on the procedural failure and the financial recovery process. Authorities recommended that the full amount be retrieved from the next-of-kin. The Auditor-General directed the Controller and Accountant-General to recover the GH¢7.49 million, including interest calculated at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate, and deposit it into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana.
The document warned that legal action should be taken against bankers and next-of-kin if recovery efforts fail. The Auditor-General has previously raised alarms about similar administrative failures within the public sector, emphasizing that these recurring issues undermine the integrity of government financial management. This latest filing was submitted to Parliament in accordance with Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution and the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584), covering the financial activities of government entities for the 2025 fiscal year.
