STORY BY IRENE KABUKIE KWAO—

Interior Minister Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has disclosed that 23 Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officers have refunded GH¢124,552 in excess salary arrears paid to them following an error identified in an audit.

The recovered amount has been paid into the Auditor-General’s recoveries account, Muntaka told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 20.

The overpayment involved officers stationed at the Elubo post who were upgraded to the rank of Assistant Immigration Control Officer I, effective July 18, 2023.

According to the audit findings, however, their salary arrears were calculated from March 2023, resulting in an excess payment of GH¢124,552.

Auditors subsequently recommended that the commanding officer recover the overpaid amount, together with interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate, and transfer the funds to the Auditor-General’s recoveries account.

Addressing the committee, Muntaka confirmed that the principal amount had been fully recovered.

“I’m happy to say that we’ve received all the 124,552 money and it’s been paid into the Auditor-General’s account,” he said.

However, the minister indicated that recovering the interest remained a challenge, arguing that the officers should not be penalised for an error they did not knowingly cause.

He explained that the arrears had been paid directly into the officers’ bank accounts as bulk payments, making it difficult for them to determine the specific periods covered by the payments.

Muntaka maintained that there was no evidence that the officers had deliberately provided false information or engaged in wrongdoing to secure the excess payments.

“In fairness, Madam Chair, I think that the idea that they should pay with interest is not fair, because they did nothing wrong,” he told the committee.

The minister suggested that responsibility for the interest component should be considered in relation to the officials who authorised the payments, given that the officers received the money through the official payroll process.

While the GH¢124,552 principal has been recovered, the question of whether interest should also be paid remains unresolved