By Ashiadey Dotse
A shocking investigation by The Fourth Estate has uncovered massive fraud in the National Service Authority (NSA) payroll. The findings reveal that a single name was repeated 226 times as a beneficiary, raising serious concerns about corruption and financial mismanagement.
The Fourth Estate first discovered the irregularities in November 2024 but was unable to publish its findings due to a court injunction obtained by the NSA. However, the court later lifted the ban, allowing the report to be made public. The investigation covered records from 2017 to 2023 and also included the 2024 national service year.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Kwaku Krobea Asante, Programmes Manager at the Independent Journalism Project under the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), described the findings as alarming. He pointed out that the payroll system contained unusual entries, including individuals over 80 and 90 years old and fake index numbers.
“The NSA’s reported number of personnel does not match the actual data,” Asante revealed. “Some people have manipulated the system by using over-age individuals, fake index numbers, and even repeating a single name 226 times.”
Following these revelations, President John Mahama has ordered a full investigation into the suspected ghost names on the NSA payroll. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the President’s Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications, confirmed that the fraud was discovered after a nationwide headcount of active service personnel.
The headcount, requested by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, aimed to verify genuine personnel before clearing outstanding allowance arrears from August 2024. The results showed that only 98,145 service personnel were legitimate, far fewer than the 180,030 names originally submitted by the previous NSA management. This discrepancy meant that GHS 226 million was allocated for legitimate personnel, exposing how much could have been lost to ghost names.
Authorities are now investigating those responsible for this payroll fraud, and further actions are expected to ensure accountability and prevent future occurrences.
