Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Lori Demeter

Abstract

The Pensions Ordinance No. 42 of 1950 (Pensions Act 1950), coded as the Cap 30 pension system, provides for pensions, gratuities, and other allowances for public servants. But despite internal controls, Ghana’s Cap 30 pension payment system continues to suffer from corruption. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of internal controls on fraud in the payment of Cap 30 pension gratuities and allowances at the national treasury in Ghana as well as the factors that inhibit the effective application of internal controls in the processing, computation, and payment of Cap 30 pension gratuities and allowances. The fraud triangle theory was the theoretical framework for the study. A general qualitative research approach was used to purposively sample a total of 22 experts from the national treasury, beneficiary agencies, and executives of pensioners’ associations. Data were gathered through in-person and virtual one-on-one interviews. Supportive literature was gathered by review of treasury and archival documents and court reports. NVivo software was used for coding, categorization, and theme development. The internal controls were challenged by weak knowledge of the laws, collusion and connivance, induments, interferences, and bribery. The participants criticized the implementors of poor service delivery, which the implementors denied. Major reasons for fraud committal were reported as greed, pressure, and ego. The study may impact positive social change by drawing the attention of Cap 30 pension fund policy makers and managers to the weaknesses in the internal control system for policy improvement toward reduction and elimination of fraud in public funds.

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