By Kebba AF Touray
The National Audit Office (NAO) has uncovered that more than 1.7 million dalasis were paid to so-called ghost workers at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH), raising fresh concerns about financial mismanagement at the country’s premier referral institution.
In its management letter covering the period from January 1, 2021, to April 30, 2024, the NAO reported that a staff verification exercise revealed numerous employees on the hospital’s payroll who could not be physically traced. The payments to these individuals — totaling D1,718,938.18 — were made despite no evidence of their active service, auditors said.
“The staff listed were not traceable in terms of physical presence but were paid salaries worth D1,718,938.18,” the report stated. The audit warned that paying salaries to non-existent or absent staff constitutes a “wastage of hospital resources” and recommended immediate recovery of the funds.
Management at EFSTH, in its response, insisted that all listed staff were accounted for. Some, it explained, were active employees, while others had either retired, left due to health reasons, or had absconded from their posts. Management said the situation has now been “regularized” and pledged to ensure formal dismissals and compliance with leave regulations going forward.
Separately, the audit also found that the hospital defaulted on contributions to the Medical and Health Services Cooperative Credit Union in December 2023 and January 2024, leading to additional financial penalties. According to the NAO, the missed payments, which the hospital attributed to delays in receiving subvention from the Ministry of Health, resulted in penalties totaling D2,089,483.77.
The total liability incurred by the hospital during this period reached D6,954,968.94, the report stated, further noting that the delay could undermine staff members’ ability to access loans and other benefits from the credit union.
In light of these findings, the NAO recommended that the Ministry of Health prioritize the timely disbursement of subventions to avoid future penalties and safeguard the welfare of hospital staff.
Management of EFSTH accepted the audit’s findings and said it had formally requested the Ministry of Health to reimburse the delayed subvention payments, though the funds had not yet been recovered. “Letters of follow-up are to be written to the Ministry of Health,” the hospital’s management said in its official response.
