President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Nationwide Investigations Bureau (NIB) to launch an instantaneous investigation right into a scandal on the National Service Authority (NSA). This transfer aligns with the current administration’s commitment to combating corruption.
The directive follows the invention of over 81,885 suspected ghost names on the NSA payroll after a compulsory headcount of lively nationwide service personnel.
A press release signed by the President’s Spokesperson, Minister of Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu, and dated Wednesday, 12 February, revealed:
The ghost names had been detected following a headcount of lively Nationwide Service personnel on the behest of the Minister for Finance as a prerequisite for the clearance of allowance arrears relationship again to August 2024.
The assertion additional disclosed that the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has subsequently launched funds to settle the arrears of lively personnel.
Following the completion of the headcount, the Ministry of Finance has launched GHS 226,019,224 to cowl allowance fee arrears for 98,145 precise Nationwide Service personnel.
This determine is 81,885 lower than the 180,030 names submitted by the earlier administration of the Authority for allowance funds in 2024.
In the meantime, President Mahama has tasked the brand new administration of the NSA with implementing pressing reforms to determine stricter controls and stop a recurrence of ghost names on the payroll.
Background
In December 2024, investigative media outlet The Fourth Estate deliberate to publish an exposé on alleged corrupt actions throughout the Nationwide Service Scheme (NSS). The publication was scheduled for two December, simply 5 days earlier than the 2024 basic election. Nonetheless, the NSA obtained a 10-day injunction, halting the discharge lower than 12 hours earlier than its scheduled publication.
Leaked paperwork later urged that the scandal concerned over 40,000 ghost names on the NSS payroll, resulting in an estimated annual lack of greater than GHS 343 million over three consecutive years.
In response, the NSA, in a press release dated 16 December, denied any payroll fraud, describing the allegations as a risk to its ongoing transformation efforts geared toward eliminating such malpractices. The Authority additionally expressed its willingness to research the claims.
