In recent weeks, Ghana has been rocked by a massive scandal involving the National Service Scheme (NSS), a key initiative that provides young people with the chance to contribute to national development.
This once-praised program has been exposed for having a serious flaw. Senior officials at the National Service Authority (NSA) bypassed mandatory validation processes, resulting in a shocking case of fraud.
This manipulation led to major discrepancies in the NSS payroll, costing the government millions of taxpayer cedis.
How Did This Happen? And What’s at Stake?
The scandal has raised serious questions: How could such a huge oversight occur in a program designed to support the country's youth? And what does this mean for Ghana’s development goals?
It all began with the manipulation of a supposedly foolproof digital system that was meant to eliminate ghost names once and for all.
A History of Digitalization: A Tale of Two Realities
In 2022, during a visit to the NSA, then-Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia enthusiastically praised the agency’s new “Metric app,” which combined facial recognition with ID verification to prevent fraud. The Director-General of NSA, Osei Assibey Antwi, boasted that the system had already saved Ghana GHC 112 million by blocking fraudulent enrollments.
The "Success" Story: A Digital Revolution
The system flagged over 14,000 fraudsters, preventing them from enrolling. Bawumia hailed the project as a model, claiming it could save billions of cedis if expanded across government sectors.But, as often happens, the real story was far different from the government’s narrative.
The Dark Side: A Deeper Investigation Uncovers a Major Scam
The much-hyped digitalization success has turned out to be a huge farce. The system was hacked and manipulated, becoming an enabler of one of the most elaborate financial schemes in Ghana’s recent history. Instead of catching fraudsters, the system allowed them to run wild, with fake identities receiving allowances that should have gone to real service personnel.
Ghost Names, Fake Index Numbers, and Inflated Figures
At the beginning of each service year, the NSA announces how many young Ghanaians are eligible for national service. However, behind the scenes, thousands of names were fabricated. These names didn’t just include ghost personnel—they had fake index numbers and bogus PINs that linked to people who didn’t even exist.
2017/2018 Service Year: Official figures showed 91,871 personnel; in reality, only 88,939 were deployed. This discrepancy of 2,932 people raises major red flags, especially when these numbers don't match the actual enrollment.
The investigation found an alarming number of fraudsters, including 93-year-old Nimatu Salifu, who was listed as a graduate from the University for Development Studies (UDS) and deployed to a school despite her age.
Other fake IDs included doctored school IDs and even provisional voter cards. A reverse image search even found that a Kenyan human resources manager had unknowingly had their photo used for a fake NSS ID.
The Presidential Order: A Full Investigation
After the investigation broke, President John Dramani Mahama acted swiftly, ordering a full-scale probe into the NSA. This is a major move to crack down on corruption and restore accountability within the NSS.
What’s Happening Now?
February 12, 2025: President Mahama tasked the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to lead the investigation. They are investigating the origins of the fraud and seeking to punish those responsible. The President emphasized swift action to rebuild public trust and ensure the system works as intended.Gifty Oware-Mensah: The Deputy Executive Director Under Scrutiny
Amid the fallout, attention has shifted to Gifty Oware-Mensah, the Deputy Executive Director of the NSS. Reports suggest she left Ghana shortly after the scandal came to light, raising suspicions about her involvement. Sources claim she may be making arrangements to stay abroad, potentially evading accountability.
This has intensified calls for the government to ensure that implicated officials are held accountable and prevented from fleeing justice.
The Call for Reform: Restoring Integrity to the NSS
Stronger Oversight: The President’s administration has emphasized transparency and reform. A comprehensive audit of the NSS payroll system is underway to find systemic weaknesses and close any loopholes that allowed this fraud to occur.Enhanced Verification Protocols: New measures will include routine audits and stronger identity verification methods to ensure that only legitimate personnel receive allowances.
Public Reactions: Ghanaians Demand Accountability
Across the country, the public is outraged by this betrayal of trust. Citizens, civil society groups, and anti-corruption advocates are demanding transparency in the investigation. They want to know who is responsible for this massive financial mismanagement and how the government plans to make it right.
The People’s Demands: Swift legal action, transparency, and reforms within the NSS to prevent this from happening again.The Bigger Picture: The Persistence of Ghost Names in the NSS
This scandal isn’t the first time Ghana has faced challenges with ghost names in the NSS. Back in 2014, Alhaji Alhassan Imoro, then Executive Director of the NSS, was arrested for embezzling GH₵86.9 million through fraudulent payments to ghost service personnel.
Despite the introduction of digital systems like e-zwich and the Metric App to fight fraud, ghost names remain a persistent issue. This ongoing problem underscores the deep weaknesses in monitoring and auditing mechanisms within Ghana’s public institutions.
What’s Next?
As the investigation unfolds, questions remain:
How did this massive fraud go unnoticed for so long?What changes will be implemented to restore faith in the NSS?
Can this scandal serve as a wake-up call for broader reform in public sector management?
Stay tuned as we continue to follow this developing story and bring you the latest updates. The fight for transparency and accountability in Ghana’s public sector is just beginning.
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