NSS Scandal: 81,885 Ghost Names On Payroll Cost Ghana GH¢704.25 Million Annually

• A recent headcount of National Service Scheme beneficiaries revealed 81,885 ghost names on the payroll
• President John Mahama ordered the National Investigations Bureau to probe the National Service Authority
• These findings came ahead of a Fourth Estate’s investigation, which noted thousands of ghost names under the scheme

A recent headcount of National Service Scheme beneficiaries revealed 81,885 ghost names on the payroll.

These ghost names cost taxpayers a staggering GH¢704.25 million annually, per 3News calculations.

President John Mahama ordered the National Investigations Bureau to probe the National Service Authority.

According to a statement from the presidency, the scope of the investigations is to cover the period under the previous government.

“The ghost names were detected, following a head count of active National Service personnel at the behest of the Minister for Finance as a prerequisite for the clearance of allowance arrears dating back to August 2024."

Read also

National service personnel jubilate after receiving three allowance arrears

These findings came ahead of the Fourth Estate’s investigation, which found thousands of names assigned fake student index numbers supposedly linked to public universities and colleges of education.

The report noted one Abubakar Fuseni was listed in the NSS database as a graduate of the University for Development Studies in the 2022/2023 service year.

His index number, 591GHA-725913201-2, was flagged by University for Development Studies officials as fake.

It also noted that the 2022/2023 NSS list contained 226 other individuals named “Abubakar Fuseni,” all supposedly from the University for Development Studies and all with identical degree qualifications.

On the NSS posting list for the 2022/2023 service year, 2,338 names with index numbers similar to Abubakar’s and inconsistent with what the University officially issues can be found.

The National Service Authority previously refuted the allegations of ghost names and payroll fraud in a statement.

Read also

Nam1 excited over Ken Ofori-Atta being declared wanted: "Life is turn by turn"

Ghana drops again on Corruption Perception Index

YEN.com.gh reported that Ghana dropped on the Global Corruption Perception Index from a score of 43 previously to 42 in the 2024 rankings.

Ghana ranked 80th out of 180 countries and territories assessed in the latest report released by Transparency International.

The Ghana Integrity Initiative noted that this is a decline from Ghana’s 43 that it scored in 2023.

It added that this signalled a setback in the country’s anti-corruption efforts as the score is lower than the global average of 43.

Since 2015, Ghana has experienced a gradual decline in its score, dropping five points over the past decade.

Source: YEN.com.gh