Employees who are granted study leave with pay and refuse to return within the stipulated time will have their appointments terminated, the Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Agyei, has warned.

The move, he said, formed part of broader plans to get rid of ghost names on the government payroll.

“Future termination will apply to those who are going on study leave with pay.

If you have a study leave with pay for three years, your future termination date is not when you will be 60 years; it will be after your study leave, so that exactly after the three years, automatically your salary will stop, and then when you return, you will go through a reactivation,” Mr Agyei said.

He was speaking in an interview after a news conference to provide details of the third African Association of Accountant-Generals (AAAG) annual conference, which will be held in Accra in November this year.

With public sector salaries consuming over 57 per cent of the country’s domestic revenue, he said, validation of non-existent or unqualified individuals on the government payroll persisted despite efforts to clamp down on ghost names.

To crack the whip, he said the government would procure hand-held devices for workers to be verified using the national Identity number.  

“If you don’t clean the system and the validators keep on validating, what it means is that at the end of the month they are still validating the ghost,” he added. 

Conference

The 3rd Annual Conference of the AAAG is scheduled to take place from November 24 to 28, 2025.

It will be held on the theme: “Africa of Tomorrow: Positioning Public Finance Management (PFM) for Economic Prosperity”.

The flagship event is expected to bring together over 2,000 public finance experts and professionals, senior government officials, development partners, innovators, thought leaders and venture capitalists from across the continent and beyond to discuss how robust Public Financial Management Systems can accelerate Africa's sustainable development.

It will provide a platform for public sector accountants, policymakers, thought leaders, government representatives, development partners, and international stakeholders to converge and discuss pivotal topics related to PFM governance and sustainable growth in Africa.

Mr Agyei said the country would be hosting the event, adding, “Ghana is leading the way in PFM reform and digital transformation, and we look forward to sharing experiences and learning from others.

“This conference is a major opportunity to shape Africa's financial future, together,” he added.

The AAAG Chief Executive Officer, Fredrick Riaga, said the theme had been selected to underscore the need to reform PFM systems to respond to current and future challenges by leveraging innovation, artificial intelligence, digitalisation, climate-responsive budgeting, and sound fiscal governance.

By embracing these reforms, he said African governments could build resilience, boost public trust and unlock the continent's vast economic potential.

“This theme embraces our call to action for all governments across Africa.

As we work towards greater resilience and inclusive growth, we must strengthen public finance management systems.

Adopting agile, digital, citizen-centred, and climate-responsive systems is critical to achieving Africa's development ambitions," he said. 

For her part, the AAAG Chairperson, Malehlohonolo Mahase, said the conference was more than a gathering of public finance professionals; it was a movement to drive Africa towards transparency, enhanced accountability, improved service delivery, and a more efficient use of resources.

“By rethinking how we manage public resources, we can build an Africa that is prosperous, inclusive, and ready for current and future challenges,” she stated.