Over 2,000 ghost names have been deleted from the National Service Authority (NSA)payroll scheme as part of its cleanup exercise.The cleanup exercise, according to the Authority, will save Ghana over GH¢1 million.While addressing the media, the NSA's Director-General, Felix Gyamfi, indicated that the Controller and Accountant General's Department will verify the details of legitimate service personnel. “If you’re already on another payroll — whether as a police officer, immigration officer, or army officer — and you’re doing national service just to meet the requirement, do not submit your allowance form this month. “We are now working closely with the NIB and other security agencies, and anyone who attempts to defraud the system will be arrested,” Gyamfi warned.The Fourth Estate, released a report into the payroll records from 2017 to 2023 and the 2024 National Service Year.The finding revealed serious irregularities within the NSA, uncovering how a 72-year-old Kenyan, Kwame Donkor, was wrongly listed as a beneficiary. Mr Donkor was enlisted in the payroll with a photo and not an official ID card, which is unusual. However, the photo belonged to Emmanuel Mutio, a Human Resource Manager at a private IT company in Kenya. A 72-year-old Kenyan had his name appear on the payroll 226 times as a registered beneficiary.

The Fourth Estate initially uncovered the issue in November 2024, but the NSA obtained a court order preventing them from publishing the findings.

After the court later lifted the injunction, the report was finally released. In response, President John Dramani Mahama ordered a probe into the matter.The NIB, upon the President's directive, interrogated the former Deputy Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah and Kwaku Ohene Djan, who is also a former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority. The payroll fraud reportedly cost Ghana GHȼ50 million monthly.