Nearly 9,000 personnel have been flagged on the national service payroll following a recent internal investigation conducted by the National Service Authority (NSA).

The investigation unearthed payroll irregularities in the system, resulting in the flagging of 8,105 personnel on the service’s payroll and 1840 of them were suspended pending investigations by relevant investigative bodies.

These revelations were disclosed by the Director-General of the Authority, Ruth Dela Seddoh, during a press briefing on Monday, December 15. She explained that the irregularities were identified in three tertiary institutions: the University of Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communication Technology University, and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development.

She mentioned that the investigations stemmed from the overwhelming number of student lists submitted by the said Universities and the number on their payroll system. This, she described as a huge cartel, which she believes the schools are complicit in.

“The number of students who have officially graduated from the schools, and we compare that with the number of students that they have submitted to us. And so when you do that, you realise that some schools are complicit in this whole thing, and I must emphasise that it is a whole huge cartel.

“Due to the outcome of a very detailed, thorough investigation, we made shocking discoveries that resulted in the flagging of 8,105 individuals in the system. Let me repeat, we made a shocking discovery that resulted in us flagging 8,105 individuals in the system, and 1,840 individuals have been completely suspended pending the conclusion of further investigations by the security agencies.

“The investigations uncovered several serious irregularities being perpetuated in three tertiary institutions. University of Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communications Technology University, Akenten Appiah Minka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development.

Madam Seddoh continued that “The outcome of the investigation, 10 members of staff from the various institutions have been arrested and are under investigation with the security agencies.”

Addressing concerns raised regarding the NSS portal, the Director explained that it was closed so the Authority could reorganise postings, verify genuine personnel, and ensure only those physically present at their duty stations remain on the system.

“This timeline was not arbitrary. So, for the many people who think that it was just arbitrary on our part to shut the portal, that was not the intention.

He added, “It is because there were so many other things that we have to do after this phase. It was a carefully structured process, and enforcing the deadline was also critical to ensure accurate deployment records, confirm the physical presence of personnel at their stations, and eliminate ghost or fraudulent registration. Because after this validation, we were to subject them again to a re-validation, and facilitate the timely payment of allowances to verified personnel.

The discovery of these irregularities comes barely a week after the Auditor General surcharged former NSA bosses, Gifty Oware, Osei Assibey, ordering them to pay GHC 2.4 after a forensic audit fingered them in a fraudulent scheme.

Former bosses of the National Service Authority (NSA) face fresh trouble as the Auditor-General’s (AG) office surcharges them in a bid to recover a whopping GH¢2.4 billion unlawfully paid from state coffers.

According to the AG, the move was necessitated following a Technical and Forensic Audit of the National Service Authority (NSA) systems, which the office describes as a "well-orchestrated conspiracy" with the Director-General, Osei Assibey Antwi, and his deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, being the masterminds behind the scheme.

Consequently, the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, has written to the officers involved to pay back the GH¢2.4 billion instead of justification.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with Graphic Newspaper, Mr Akuamoah Asiedu revealed that, following investigations, “The evidence points to a deliberate and coordinated effort to create channels for the illegal siphoning of funds meant for National Service Personnel (NSP)”

Consequently, he emphatically stated that “We are duty-bound to use every power under the law, particularly Article 187(7) of the 1992 Constitution, to recover every pesewa for the state”, stressing that the article empowers his surchanre process to be independent of any criminal court proceedings.

According to the article, "The Auditor-General may disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and surcharge - (a) the amount of any expenditure disallowed upon the person responsible for incurring or authorising the expenditure; or (b) the amount of any loss or deficiency upon any person by whose negligence or misconduct the loss or deficiency has been incurred."

It will, therefore, run concurrently with the Attorney-General's prosecution of the same persons in the court of law.

Among the fraudulent schemes was a virtual marketplace created to allow NSPs to purchase goods on credit and pay with deductions from their allowances.

The forensic audit found that the platform was nothing but a sophisticated engine for generating ghost payments.

“Our forensic analysis reveals that all the supposed NSPs who bought from this marketplace and had their allowances paid to the vendors did not exist. It was a complete fiction,” Mr Akuamoah Asiedu disclosed.

Operating through the Ezwich and Ghanapay platforms, the scheme funnelled GH¢301.6 million to 32 vendor accounts.

A staggering 56 per cent of the amount, approximately GH¢169 million, was paid to a single entity, Direct Savings and Loans Ltd, under vendor names “DSLCONSUM” or “NSSDSLCOUM” through 151 transactions.

Also, the forensic report revealed that there were no formal agreements with vendors, no evidence of goods delivered, no board approval for the payments, and an initiative entirely outside the NSA’s mandate.

A key suspect, a lady from Kumasi involved in the scheme, has allegedly confessed to consistently withdrawing the monies and handing them over to the Deputy Director-General of NSA, Oware-Mensah. The marketplace portal developer has also reportedly admitted his role.