The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, James Klutse Avedzi, has advocated a “third layer” within the Ghana Education Service to validate salaries of staff.
He made the proposal after it came out that some teachers were receiving unearned salaries.
Currently, it is head teachers and circuit supervisors who validate or approve the payment of monthly salaries of staff.
The chairman was speaking when the Ministry of Education, led by a Deputy Minister, Gifty Twum Ampofo, appeared before the committee to answer questions on some infractions captured in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report.
The common thread that ran through almost all the district officials of GES who appeared before the committee was the payment of unearned salaries.
Concerns
Mr Avedzi, who is the MP (NDC) for Ketu North, described the current two-layer validation of salaries as problematic because of the possibility of a collision.
He, therefore, said that such a third layer should be a body that was higher than both the head teacher and the circuit supervisor, with no affiliation to the two.
Indeed, in one of the cases, the chairman directed that the district supervisor for the Manhyia Circuit in the Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region be surcharged for validating the payment of unearned salary to one Aboagye Da-Costa.
The supervisor, Edward Adu Twum, is alleged to have validated the payment of the monthly salaries of five teachers even though they had stopped teaching.
Three of the teachers have managed to pay back the money in full, while another had made partial payment.
However, Aboagye Da Costa, who is said to be in the UK, is yet to settle his indebtedness.
The committee was told that he had agreed to a payment plan for the refund within six months.
Mr Avedzi, however, said that in an event that Aboagye Da Costa failed to refund the money, the district supervisor would be surcharged.
Refund
In another instance, the validator at the Agotime-Ziope District Education Office has been directed to refund money paid to two teachers who failed to work for 12 and 17 months respectively.
He was asked to either produce the two teachers or have his salary blocked.
The chairman of the committee further directed the Ho Municipal and Kpando Education Offices to recover unearned salaries paid some teachers.
He also said that one Wisdom Krampah, formerly of the Kadjebi District Educational Office, who now works with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) at Dambai, should be arrested for refusing to refund almost GH¢ 72,000 of unearned salary.
The District Director of Education at Kadjebi, Seyram Seth, told the committee that he could not speak with Krampah because the latter’s phones had been off for the past two days.
A member of the committee, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, said the attitude of Krampah should be enough grounds for him to be dismissed from YEA.
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