The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the management of Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) after it emerged that the hospital continued to pay salaries to a deceased employee for 26 months.
During a PAC hearing in Accra, lawmakers were stunned to learn that Habib Napare, a staff member who passed in 2022, remained on the hospital’s payroll until recently.
The revelation was part of the Auditor-General’s report, which flagged over GHS1.44 million in unearned salaries paid to individuals who were either deceased, retired, or had exited the service.
Dr. Emmanuel Sena Kwasi Donkor, Director of Administration at TTH, admitted that only GHS303,558.68 of the amount has been recovered so far. He explained that while some banks had frozen the accounts, full recovery has proven difficult, prompting the hospital to seek parliamentary intervention.
PAC members were visibly outraged. Ranking Member Samuel Atta-Mills questioned the hospital’s internal controls, asking, “Didn’t anybody attend this person’s funeral? You validated a dead man for 26 months and now you’re asking Parliament to intervene?”
The Committee has referred the matter to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and directed the hospital to overhaul its payroll validation systems to prevent future financial losses.
