Ghana’s Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has announced a set of reforms targeting ghost names on government payrolls, inefficiencies in public payments and uneven staffing across regions, as part of a broader push to strengthen accountability in the country’s public financial management system.
Controller and Accountant-General Kwasi Agyei disclosed the measures during a working visit to the Volta Region, where he met with Volta Regional Minister James Gunu in Ho. The visit brought together officials to discuss the Department’s reform agenda and its implications for regional service delivery.
At the centre of the reforms is a plan to integrate the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) pension and payroll databases with systems operated by the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Births and Deaths Registry. Agyei said the integration is designed to eliminate ghost names from government payrolls and ensure that only legitimate workers and pensioners receive payments, directly addressing one of the most persistent sources of financial leakage in Ghana’s public sector.
The Department is also phasing out manual cheques in favour of electronic payment systems. Agyei said the transition is expected to improve efficiency in public financial transactions, reduce payment delays and minimise opportunities for financial irregularities. He added that digitising payment processes would strengthen oversight and enhance transparency in the management of public funds.
A third reform involves decentralised and localised recruitment within the Department. Agyei said bringing qualified professionals from local communities into regional and district offices would improve operational responsiveness and service delivery at the sub-national level while creating employment opportunities across the country.
Gunu commended the Department for the reforms, describing them as important steps toward improving accountability and efficiency within Ghana’s public financial management framework. He welcomed the localised recruitment proposal in particular, noting its potential to create jobs for qualified residents within the Volta Region, and reaffirmed the Volta Regional Coordinating Council’s commitment to collaborating with state institutions on transparency and good governance.
The reforms arrive as government institutions face mounting pressure to tighten accountability systems and accelerate digitisation in the management of public resources.
