YEA Boss chases ghosts with BNI

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has stated that his fight against ghost names on the payroll of the agency is not over yet.

He said 16,839 ghost names have so far been deleted from the YEA pay roll, through head counts.

Mr Kodua Frimpong, who perhaps suspects that more ghost names exist on the payroll, said he would seek the intervention of security agencies to clean the system.

“We have so far deleted 16,839 ghost names from our pay roll across the country and this was done through head counts, following my order.

“The fight against the ghost names on the pay roll of YEA is not over; we shall now do physical investigations about each of our staff.”

Speaking in an interview with Hello FM, Mr Kodua Frimpong said that the police and the BNI would be relied upon to clear the ghost names.

The CEO, who is determined to clean the system, also called for a change in the current payment plan for staff and beneficiaries of YEA.

According to him, the current structure whereby YEA staff are paid directly by the agency is not proper as it gives room for corruption.

He suggested an amendment of the pay structure so that payment of YEA staff would pass through the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, he hinted.

Kodua Frimpong underscored, “The payment of our staff doesn’t pass through the Controller and Accountants General’s Department and this is an avenue for corruption.

“It is therefore my wish that this system would be changed so that the Controller and Accountants General’s Department will control the payment of our staff,”

The YEA CEO observed with concern that illegal payments had taken place in his outfit in the past due to the payment structure, which he claimed has deep loopholes.

According to him, if the public purse can be protected then there is the strong need for the payment of the YEA officials to be changed.

He disclosed that about 350 staff of the agency had been affected by massive nationwide transfers.

He justified the horde of transfers, explaining that the affected staff were sent to areas where their services are crucially needed.