The National Service Authority (NSA) has recently uncovered a significant payroll fraud scheme within the Birim North District of Ghana’s Eastern Region. This revelation follows a collaborative effort with a whistleblower that exposed a calculated and systemic case of financial misconduct involving the District Manager and the MIS Manager.
According to NSA, both individuals were confronted during a meeting and presented with compelling evidence of their involvement. Following further discussions, they confessed to the fraudulent activities and have since been interdicted to allow for ongoing investigations.
Initial findings revealed that the implicated officers facilitated the improper enrollment of at least 29 individuals for the 2024/2025 service year, and 49 more in the 2023/2024 service year. These individuals were falsely registered as regular National Service Personnel while actually being on “Study Leave with Pay” or already engaged in full-time employment. This action was part of a wider, longstanding payroll fraud problem affecting the Authority at large.
This incident sheds light on a larger issue across the National Service scheme. The NSA noted a worrying trend where individuals employed in various sectors—teachers, nurses, midwives, custom officers, and workers in ministries and private institutions—deliberately conceal their full-time employment status to fraudulently draw monthly service allowances.
Such individuals, although eligible to undertake their national service due to not having done so previously, are not entitled to monthly allowances while still earning salaries from their employers. Yet, by misrepresenting themselves and colluding with certain officials, they manage to receive payments from the NSA illegally.
This fraudulent practice contravenes the Public Services Commission Act of 1994 (Act 482) and breaches both legal and ethical standards expected of public officers. Specifically, it violates Section 12 of the Act, which mandates honesty, integrity, and accountability from public servants. The act also qualifies as unlawful enrichment and misuse of public funds, subject to full legal consequences.
To combat this, the NSA is rolling out robust verification reforms aimed at sanitizing the service enrolment system. All submitted service records will now be cross-checked against the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) database to detect discrepancies, double payments, and false identities.
The NSA emphasizes a zero-tolerance policy towards such offenses. Staff found to be complicit will face immediate dismissal, prosecution, and permanent disqualification from future public sector roles.
As part of the current enforcement initiative:
All involved individuals—believed to number in the thousands—are instructed to stop submitting monthly allowance forms and are required to report voluntarily to NSA Regional Offices by 23rd May 2025 for proper status rectification.
Those who fail to comply will risk having their names and photographs publicly disclosed, with their information forwarded to relevant law enforcement agencies for possible legal action.
This exercise serves as a stern warning to all parties attempting to defraud the system. The NSA, alongside the National Intelligence Bureau and dedicated whistleblowers, has been discreetly monitoring these illicit activities for months.
The Authority reassures the public that its upgraded systems and internal controls are designed to expose all offenders, regardless of when the misconduct occurred. All violators will be identified, exposed, and held fully accountable.
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