How a librarian swindled Bolga Technical University of over GH¢376000 using a fake certificate
The 2021 Auditor General Report implicated an Assistant Librarian of the Bolgatanga Technical University. The man in question, known as Mr Akay as revealed in the report presented a fake certificate to the school, and was promoted as a result which enabled him to receive as salary the sum of GH¢376,244.22 in six (6) years.
According to the report, Mr Akay was granted a study leave with pay to pursue a 2-years master’s program at GIMPA, from September 2013 to June 2015. Folowing his graduation, he was subsequently upgraded from Library Assistant to Assistant Librarian, which meant his pay also increased.
“However, investigation conducted by GTEC on officers’ academic certificates during the conversion from Polytechnic to Technical University revealed that the certificate presented by Mr. Akay was fake. He could not have graduated because of his outstanding project work. This resulted in his indebtedness in the sum of GH¢376,244.22, being gross salary paid to him from October 2015 (effective date of the certificate) to September 2021 by the University. Subsequently, Mr. Akay was summarily dismissed on 22 September 2021 in accordance with article 54 of the University Statutes”.
Details of Mr. Akay salaries paid for the period is provided in Table.
“Management’s inaction in conducting checks on staff academic certificates from the appropriate institutions accounted for the anomaly. The omission led to an upgrade of an officer to an underserving grade and could also cause a loss to the State if not retrieved.”
The AG report recommended that “the amount of GH¢376,244.22 should be retrieved from Mr. Akay and same paid to the Consolidated Fund, failing which Management should take legal action against him to retrieve same. We also advised Management to always conduct the needed checks on academic certificates and other information provided by new employees and staff on study leave to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in teaching and learning”.
