An audit of the Ministry of Information and Civic Education has raised concerns over salary payments to staff who failed to present themselves for physical verification, with auditors describing the matter as unresolved despite management explanations.
According to the 2024 audit report, eight individuals listed on the Ministry’s payroll did not make themselves available for physical verification during the period under review. The report states that a total of NLe368,595.84 was paid to these individuals in salaries.
The Auditor-General recommended that the Director of Human Resources ensure that the affected staff avail themselves for physical verification. Failing that, the audit advised that the salaries already paid should be recovered and paid into the Consolidated Fund.
In its official response, the Ministry said it conducted an internal verification and offered several clarifications. Management stated that two of the individuals, identified by pin-codes 128090 and 139970, are duly recognised staff whose names appear on both the Ministry’s approved staff list and the government payroll.
The Ministry further explained that a third individual named in the audit is a staff member of the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, adding that his appearance on the payroll segment attributed to the Ministry of Information and Civic Education was the result of an administrative error.
According to the response, the remaining five individuals cited by the auditors are not staff of the Ministry. Management said steps have been initiated to formally communicate these discrepancies to the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) for review and regularisation, with the aim of aligning the Ministry’s staff list with the government payroll.
However, in its concluding comment, the Auditor-General noted that while three staff mentioned in the Ministry’s response were physically verified, no evidence was submitted to show reconciliation of the staff list and payroll for the remaining five individuals. The audit report revealed that these five individuals received annual gross salaries amounting to NLe130,932.00.
“Evidence to justify the salaries paid to these staff was not submitted for audit inspection,” the Auditor-General stated, adding that the matter therefore remains unresolved.
The findings add to ongoing concerns over payroll management and the persistence of so-called “ghost workers” within public sector institutions, an issue the government has repeatedly pledged to address as part of efforts to strengthen accountability and safeguard public funds.
