The Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Akutringa Ayine, has disclosed that Ghana lost over GHS 548 million to ghost names within the National Service Scheme (NSS) over a span of six service years.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, June 13, the Attorney General revealed that, the fraudulent payments began as far back as the 2018/2019 service year, during which GHS 25,857,836.16 was siphoned through non-existent personnel.
“In the 2022/2023 service year, 350,926,977.12 was lost to the state. For the 2023/2024 service year, 32,881, 157.07 was lost to the republic. In total, as stated, we lost about 548,333,542.65 to the criminal enterprise perpetrated by these executives, directors, and staff, as well as 5the service providers in the market.
“The criminal enterprise that resulted in the loss of this colossal loss of sum of money involved the creation of ghost names in the NSA payroll system by some directors and staff, which was subsequently exploited to misappropriate state funds for their gain,” he stated.
He confirmed that investigations have concluded, and charges will be filed against 12 suspects (next month, July) involved in the scandal, including former Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah, who allegedly masterminded the operation.
Among those to be charged are senior officials who previously held key leadership roles at the Authority, including:
Mustapha Ussif, former Executive Director
Osei Assibey Antwi, former Director General
Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director
Kweku Ohene Gyan, former Deputy Executive Director for Operations
Abraham Bismark Gaisie, former Head of Deployment
Eric Nyarko, former Head of Accounts
Albert Oteng Owusu, former Internal Auditor
Kweku Dekyi Agyei, Accounts Officer
Iddrisu Ibn Abu-Bakr, former Head of Accounts
Stephen Kwabena Gyamfi, Koforidua Municipal Director
Prince Agbofa Awuku, District Director
Jacob Yawson, MIS Administrator in the Northern Regional Office
Highlighting the central role played by Gifty Oware-Mensah, the Attorney General added:
“Suspect Gifty Oware-Mensah used a total of 9,934 ghost names to perpetuate said diversion of funds… used NSS data to obtain a loan of over GHC 30 million with interest of 23 percent from ADB… created a company named Blocks of Life Consult with her husband, a lawyer, as one of the directors.”
“Former Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah created and executed a meticulous plan using National Service allowances to secure a loan of GHC 30,698,218 from ADB Bank.”
The revelations come in the wake of a directive from President John Dramani Mahama instructing the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to probe irregularities at the NSA, following the discovery of over 8,000 ghost names on its payroll.