The Audit Service Ghana has issued a formal correction to claims that a civil servant, Frank Oliver Kpodo, received over GH¢427 million in unearned salaries, describing the figure as a result of a “transpositional error.”
In a press release dated April 21, 2026, the Audit Service said it had taken note of media publications attributing the amount of GH¢427,995,661.40 to Mr. Kpodo based on findings from the Auditor-General’s nationwide payroll audit covering January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025.
According to the statement, the amount in question was wrongly attributed to Mr. Kpodo and instead relates to the Ministry of Education Ghana.
The Audit Service explained that the figure represents payments linked to 3,476 unaccounted-for staff identified during the payroll audit exercise, and not a single individual.
“We wish to state that the amount attributed to Mr. Kpodo above was due to a transpositional error,” the statement clarified.
The Audit Service offered an unreserved apology to Mr. Kpodo for the distress and public scrutiny caused by the error.
It also extended apologies to the Government of Ghana, the public, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for the mistake.
The clarification follows widespread public concern and debate after earlier reports suggested that a single civil servant had received the massive sum over a 29-month period, raising alarm over possible systemic failures in Ghana’s payroll system.
The new statement effectively corrects that narrative, indicating that the issue instead relates to broader payroll discrepancies involving thousands of staff, rather than an isolated case.
