Ghost names have always been a part of the working space, particularly in the civil service in Ghana. This phenomenon has rather been on the rise in recent times and is causing increasing financial loss to the state as well as depriving the young people of Ghana of working in the civil service because the vacant spaces are being taken by non-existent people.
Ghana’s Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) claims that political actors are to blame for the rise in the number of ghost employees on the government payroll. The Association explains that one of the main contributing elements to the troubling scenario is the intervention by political allies within the government in the management of the Civil Service.
Speaking on the topic “Abuse of political power in the Ghanaian Civil Service: the bane of National Development” at the 5th Nathan Annang Quao Lectures, the Executive Secretary of the Association, Dr. Isaac Bampoe Addo, urged the government to disengage itself from the activities of the service. He added that their information showed that the alleged “ghost names” in the civil service payroll have been personal assistants of politicians.
Additionally, Dr. Bampoe Addo expressed dissatisfaction that party apparatchiks and consultants have been hired permanently to consult on vital services. This has weakened the majority of civil servant organizations’ quality of services, he said.
He further stated that the government officials had taken over possibilities for capacity building and those that they could not seize have been sabotaged to the detriment of the nation.
In July this year, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia hinted that about GH400 million has been wasted due to ghost names on the National Service Scheme and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension plan. According to him, 14,000 ghost names were found on the NSS, and around 27,000 ghost pensions were found on SSNIT. This situation is very worrying and an end must be put to it immediately.
The government payroll must be decentralized to bring it closer to the people. It should also be frequently updated to help combat the menace of ghost names.
Priscilla Fumadorh
Priscilla is an entrepreneur and a creative communicator who loves to communicate through writing. She is passionate about national economic issues and does not miss a chance to offer her opinions on them for the good of the country.
Politicians hmmm