By Cynthia Maku
The Management of National Capital District Provincial Health Authority (NCDPHA) informed Members of the media today in a press conference, that they have acted promptly on addressing the payroll fraud of Pay thirteen (13) – last pay day.
Several immediate actions and corrective measures have been undertaken including the immediate suspension of a senior Manager, who is directly responsible for HRM matters.
The Chief Executive Officer of NCDPHA, Dr Steven Yennie, informed the media that his Office was made aware of an unauthorized salary payment to a senior manager amounting to over a million kina, after the payment was processed through the Alesco Payroll (through an offline payment mode).
“Inputs for the Alesco payroll for NCDPHA is currently managed by the Department of Finance and Department of Personnel Management. The NCDPHA management is not aware of the processes relating to the input and payment of the reported amount,” said Dr Yennie.
He further stated that in reviewing the Payroll for that particular pay day, a number of irregular and fraudulent payments were identified. These were mostly overtime payments, which were never approved by himself.
“By law and policy, only the CEO as head of the organization has the power to approve overtime payments and not any other office.”
“Based on our preliminary assessment of these fraudulent payroll transactions, were processed without authorization from my office to certain individual staff including on pay 13 of.
These payments are also under investigation for payroll fraud and are in serious breach of set public service approval processes at NCDPHA, Department of Personnel Management, Department Finance ITD and NDoH.”
“Upon being briefed of these unauthorized payments (through NCDPHA Threshold Report and pay slips for Pay 13/2023), my Office has taken the following measures to deal with officers directly or indirectly involved in this unprecedented government payroll fraud. Preliminary actions so far taken and others to be taken include;
(a) Letter to Bank South Pacific Ltd to Freeze personal accounts of the person named and various other officers.
(b) Immediate suspension of manager responsible for HRM.
(c) Appointment of a new Deputy Director Corporate Services
(d) Establishment of a Committee headed by Acting Deputy Director Corporate Services – HRM to conduct further investigation to establish origin of the claims and carry out a NCDPHA Payroll.
(e) Immediate suspension without pays of eight (8) officers found to have been paid unusual and unauthorized gross salary payments on pay 13 of 2023.
(f) Institution of Internal Control on approval and processing of pay variation advices (PVAs).
(g) Full investigation as to who approved or authorized the eight (8) months Over-time Salary Payments processing on the Alesco Payroll System that has resulted in the unusual and unauthorized salary payments of the nine (9) officers”.
“Furthermore, the Officer that was mentioned to have received K1million in pay last pay day, actually resigned 3 weeks ago before the payment went through. The person will be referred to the Police for investigation,” said Dr Yennie.
Payments of public service salaries for NCDPHA staff are paid out of Alesco payroll systems at the Department of Personnel Management and Department of Finance Information Technology Department (ITD).
NCDPHA currently does not have access at its Main Office to input staff salaries into the payroll system.
NCDPHA has only been around for three years. It is in the process of properly setting up its systems, which includes the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) and Alesco Payroll systems.
