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Mockshell Esinam Sunu summoned by PAC over GH‵341,229 salary
•2 min read•1 source
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Ministry of Health to ensure that Dr. Mockshell Esinam Sunu, a Senior Medical Officer at Takoradi Hospital, appears before it to explain the receipt of GH‵341,229 in unearned salary. The summons follows revelations that Dr. Sunu continued to receive monthly payments while on an approved study leave for a program in Germany that she never actually attended. The committee is seeking an explanation for how these payments remained active despite her failure to travel for the course.
The investigation focuses on a two-year period, with the PAC questioning salary disbursements made from September 2023 to August 2025. Committee Chairperson Abena Osei-Asare expressed significant concern over the duration of the oversight, noting that the payments continued undetected for nearly two years. Dr. Sunu is expected to clarify why she did not notify the health authorities or the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to stop the payments once it became clear her study plans had fallen through.
Beyond the conduct of the medical officer, the PAC is scrutinizing the internal payroll validation processes at the Takoradi Hospital and the Ministry of Health. Ms. Osei-Asare highlighted a breakdown in the system, emphasizing that officials responsible for payroll validation must be held accountable for failing to flag the discrepancy. The inquiry aims to determine whether there was a deliberate attempt to circumvent the rules or if the lapse was purely administrative.
This case has brought renewed attention to the management of the public sector wage bill and the effectiveness of financial controls within Ghana’s health service. The committee has signaled that it will pursue the full recovery of the GH‵341,229. As the inquiry continues, the Ministry of Health is expected to provide a detailed report on how such a significant amount of public funds was disbursed to an officer who was not at her post or enrolled in her approved program.