Accra, Ghana – February 14, 2025
A major payroll fraud scandal has rocked the National Service Authority (NSA), with investigations revealing that officials circumvented mandatory validation processes to facilitate fraudulent payments to thousands of nonexistent personnel since 2018.
An investigative report by The Fourth Estate uncovered that ghost names were added to the payroll by generating fake student index numbers linked to various universities and tertiary institutions. These numbers, which did not match official university formats, were used to manipulate the NSA’s allowance payment system, draining millions of Ghana cedis from the public purse.
How the Fraud Operated
The NSA’s system is designed to ensure that only personnel who have actually worked receive allowances. Normally, the process involves:
- Verification at Workplaces – Immediate supervisors sign off monthly duty reports for each service person.
- District-Level Checks – NSA district managers verify and input data into the system.
- Regional-Level Approval – The regional internal auditor and director authenticate the records.
- Final Checks at NSA Headquarters – Internal auditors and finance officers conduct final verification before approving payments.
However, insiders disclosed that high-level officials at NSA headquarters manipulated the system before regional directors could complete their verification, ensuring ghost names were approved for payment.
Breach of Protocol & Cover-Up Attempts
Evidence obtained by The Fourth Estate suggests that management ignored internal alerts about these irregularities.
During a virtual management meeting in May 2023, NSA Western Regional Director Okatakyie Amankwaa Afrifa raised concerns about pre-approved payments appearing in the system before his verification process.
“My Western Region account always has 250 personnel already approved, and for Western North, it’s always 993. I don’t know where that number is coming from,” Afrifa revealed during the meeting.
Despite assurances from the then Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi to investigate the issue, no corrective action was taken.
In November 2024, The Fourth Estate sought an interview with NSA directors, but the institution declined, citing an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) following a petition from The Fourth Estate.
Widespread Corruption Amid Delayed Allowances
A comparison of NSA’s official figures presented to the public and those submitted to Parliament’s Select Committee on Education since 2019 revealed systematic inflation of personnel numbers.
Meanwhile, genuine service personnel struggled to receive their allowances.
“It is disgusting that while many of us struggled to survive in marginalized communities, officials were stealing in our names,” said Joel, a former national service person. “The worst part is, they never even paid me for two months.”
The revelations raise serious concerns about financial accountability at the NSA. With the OSP’s involvement, pressure is mounting for those responsible to be held accountable and for systemic reforms to prevent further losses.
