NSA denies ghost names and payroll fraud

The National Service Authority (NSA) has vehemently denied recent allegations of “ghost names” and inflated payrolls for National Service personnel from 2018/2019 to 2023/2024.

The Authority maintains in a statement issued on Monday, December 16, to the media and public that these accusations are “baseless and unfounded”.

The NSA, however, emphasized that it has implemented robust electronic measures since 2021 to ensure checks and balances to prevent fraud.

These measures have reportedly saved over 300 million cedis and deterred numerous attempted frauds.

“These measures resulted in several preventive attempts of fraudsters into the system and generated savings of over 300 million cedis within the period of 4 years (2021-2024). The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and other key stakeholders have enormous evidence of the robust system implemented by the National Service Authority and the gains made over the period.”

While acknowledging no system is foolproof, the NSA claims in their release that their electronic system, coupled with constant monitoring, advanced technology (Ghana Card, facial verification, university verification), has effectively eliminated “ghost names”.

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In response to recent investigative reports and growing public scrutiny, the NSA’s Governing Board convened an emergency meeting on December 12. They resolved to invite the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) to investigate the claims. Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi affirmed the NSA’s readiness to cooperate fully with any investigations and welcomed a related petition by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The allegations emerged from investigative reporting that detailed irregularities such as fake student index numbers, discrepancies in personnel deployment figures, and the enrolment of ineligible individuals.

These claims are under scrutiny following a petition submitted by the MFWA, which has urged the OSP to investigate the purported systemic corruption.

Read the NSA’s full statement below:

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