The Fare Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has asked boards, councils and heads of Public Sector Institutions to refund fraudulent salaries and allowances.
This comes ahead of a Nationwide Payroll Monitoring Exercise by the Commission in collaboration with its relevant stakeholders.
In a statement, FWSC announced that the nationwide exercise will begin on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
“The exercise is aimed at sanitising the Public Sector Payroll by identifying and expunging any existing fraud and anomalies on it,” the statement said.
According to the FWSC, the exercise is also aimed at ensuring that only approved salaries and allowances are paid.
They, therefore, urged all public sector institutions to conduct their own internal payroll audit and clean-up before the commission’s planned audit.
FWSC also cautioned recipients of such fraudulent salaries and allowances to do the needful before the law catches up with them.
“Banks and individuals in receipt of fraudulent salaries and allowances are also advised to take steps to refund same and cease from further fraudulent practices or face the full rigours of the law,” the statement cautioned.
This comes after the FWSC announced in January 2023 that public sector workers would be paid salaries and allowances based on the level of their productivity.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Ing Ben Arthur, had said that could be achieved after wide-scale payroll monitoring.
“So we want to collaborate with the respective state institutions to ensure that if you are a ghost worker then, you will have to belong to the cemetery of payroll, not on the payroll itself. We will confine you to where dead people are kept.
“People have abandoned posts, they have left, there are people who might have retired who could be on certain payrolls, when we talk about payroll, it is not just the one at controller but some IGF-related employees as well.
“We want to collaborate with the necessary institutions and stakeholders to be able to do that. If we are able to clean the payroll very well, I can tell you we will be able to free space for those who are deserving of it to enjoy and enjoy well,” he said