President John Dramani Mahama has directed the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to conduct an immediate probe into the operations of the National Service Authority (NSA) under the previous government.
This directive follows what the Office of the President described as the shocking discovery of 81,885 suspected ghost names on the National Service Authority’s payroll.
“The ghost names were uncovered during a headcount of active National Service personnel, initiated by the Minister for Finance as a prerequisite for clearing outstanding allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
“The verification exercise revealed significant discrepancies between the actual number of service personnel and the figures previously presented by the former NSA management”.
Hon Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State, Government Communications and Spokesperson to President Mahama
Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State in charge of Government Communications and Spokesperson to President Mahama, in a statement, noted that following the completion of the audit, the Ministry of Finance has released GHS 226,019,224 to settle allowance arrears for 98,145 verified National Service personnel.
According to him, this figure stands in stark contrast to the 180,030 names earlier submitted for payment in 2024 by the past administration of the NSA, exposing a glaring anomaly of nearly 82,000 fraudulent entries.
The Fourth Estate, in a series of investigative reports, alleged 200,000 phantom identities found on the scheme’s payroll during the past four years (2020 -2024) in November 2024.
Even though the immediate past leadership of the Authority denied the allegations and described them as baseless, the Fourth Estate petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate them.
The revelation has raised serious concerns over the scale of financial mismanagement within the Authority and the potential loss of millions of cedis in fraudulent payments.
President Mahama’s directive to the NIB underscores his administration’s commitment to tackling corruption and enforcing institutional accountability.
Calls for Reform
In addition to ordering a full-scale investigation into the scandal, the statement by the Spokesperson to President Mahama tasked the newly appointed management of the National Service Authority with implementing urgent reforms aimed at tightening financial controls and preventing the recurrence of ghost names on the payroll.
These reforms are expected to introduce stringent verification processes and technological interventions to enhance transparency in the disbursement of allowances.
The discovery of this large-scale payroll fraud comes at a time when the government is prioritizing prudent financial management and the effective allocation of state resources.
Analysts and governance experts have lauded the president’s swift intervention, emphasizing the need for institutional reforms to prevent systemic corruption in public payroll administration.
As the investigation by the NIB unfolds, the government is expected to take decisive action against individuals found culpable in the scandal.
Legal and administrative consequences are anticipated for those responsible for inflating the payroll with ghost names, which has led to substantial financial losses to the state.
The Mahama administration has reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on corruption and has assured the public of transparency in the investigative process.
The outcome of the investigation is expected to set a precedent for accountability and fiscal discipline in public sector payroll management, reinforcing the government’s commitment to protecting state resources and ensuring that public funds serve their intended purpose.
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