An employee under the Health ministry continued to receive a salary for 12 months undetected for no work done.
Dr. Mubarak Adjase collected ¢86,735 between December 2014 to December 2015 while posted at the College of Health Research at Kintampo in the Bono Ahafo region.
This came up during Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee sittings where the Auditor-General’s Report is being scrutinised.
Ministers and chief directors in the various ministries appear before the Committee to explain mishaps, misappropriations and financial irregularities listed in the report.
The annual ritual tracks efforts made by authorities to adhere to financial regulations governing public funds as detailed in several laws.
At the first day of its 2019 sittings Monday, it emerged a staff linked to allegations of wrongdoing had been asked to step aside without pay.
The Comptroller and Accountant-General’s Department which pays public sector employees still continued to pay Dr. Adjase averagely ¢7,227 per month.
The Auditor-General recommended the Ministry pursues the employee to recover the money or convert the amount as an advance to him which will be deducted from the salary or entitlement.
The Report noted the recommendation had been partially implemented as Dr. Adjase who has been cleared of wrongdoing was reposted to the head office of the Health ministry.
At least ¢3,000 is being deducted from his salary until the full amount is recovered without interest.
It would take two years and nearly five months for the unearned salary to be fully paid back.
Jumping to the defence of the employee, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee James Avedzie said it is possible Dr. Adjase was not told he will not be paid while he was under investigations.
He argued, it is possible in the absence of any communication that Dr. Adjase would have felt entitled to his salary despite staying away from work.
“Mr. Chairman under normal circumstances…when you are being asked to step aside, nobody will tell you that you will not be paid”, Deputy Health Minister, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, told the Committee.
The deputy under pressure to provide answers told the Committee the ministry would need some time to resolve the issue.
“A whole lot of details are coming up. I will plead with you that we liaise with Auditor-General, the ministry together with the gentleman involved we will meet once again and resolve the matter and inform this committee”, he said.
Source: Ghana|myjoyonline.com
