A former employee of the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition is yet to refund an amount of GH¢120,347 after being granted two years’ study leave with pay.
An audit report of the Energy Ministry, which captured a review of payroll records, revealed that Yaa Serwaa Gyan, a Geologist assigned to the Petroleum Directorate of the Ministry, was granted a two-year study leave with pay from January 2021 to November 14, 2022, with a two-year bond term.
However, after returning to the Ministry in November 2022, she vacated her post on October 10, 2023, without serving her full bond term. This resulted in an unserved bond amount totaling GH¢120,347.03.
The unserved bond accrued over two years is broken down as follows: yearly salary paid for 2021 – GH¢29,288.40; yearly salary paid for 2022 – GH¢44,437.80; yearly salary paid for 2023 – GH¢14,419.26; and the bond value – GH¢32,210.57.
The issue came to light at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, when officials of the Ministry appeared before the Committee.
Answering questions on steps being taken to retrieve the funds from the employee, the Director of Finance at the Energy Ministry, Richard Kwaku Boadu, said several letters had been written to the former staff.
He disclosed that after several attempts, the Ministry discovered that Ms. Gyan had traveled to the United States for more than a year and was yet to return to serve her bond.
“As stated in the Auditor’s report, the Ministry has taken steps to retrieve the money from the officer by writing to the officer and her guarantor. Still, we have not received any response.
“Some months ago, officials from the Ministry went to the officer’s residence to find out if she was there, and we were told she had traveled outside the jurisdiction,” Mr. Boadu told the Committee.
He added that “based on this, the Ministry has formally written to the Head of Service about the status of the unserved bond as far as the officer is concerned.”
He emphasized that the Ministry is still working to ensure the money is refunded to the government.
“We are still pursuing the officer to make sure that the funds are refunded to the government,” he noted.
