Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, has disclosed that government is actively investigating cases of collusion in the payment of inflated salaries to some staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Addressing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on August 22, Dr. Apaak stressed that dishonest practices in the system could not be ignored.
“The aspect of dishonesty cannot be overlooked, but I must state that we know of instances of collusion,” he revealed.
According to him, certain individuals had deliberately manipulated salary structures to siphon state funds. He described the development as worrying, particularly given that the Controller and Accountant-General had acted outside their mandate.
“Let’s not mince words, because it is very strange that the Controller and Accountant-General would on their own decide to pay the staff of GES at a rate higher than what they ought to be getting,” Dr. Apaak emphasized.
The Deputy Minister further assured the committee that measures were being put in place to address the situation.
He confirmed that the Ministry of Education, working with relevant agencies, is determined to expose those behind such fraudulent schemes.
“When the Director-General spoke about some work that we are doing, some of these issues are being considered, and sooner than later, those who have made it their mission to fleece the state through all kinds of schemes would be duly exposed. I want to reassure the committee of that,” he stated.
The PAC is currently reviewing findings from the Auditor-General’s report, which flagged several payroll irregularities in the education sector.
