President Mahama orders investigations into National Service Authority ghost names scandal

 President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the National Investigations Bureau (NIB), to conduct immediate investigations into the operations of the National Service Authority under the previous Akufo-Addo’s Government. 

This follows the discovery of up to 81,885 suspected ‘ghost names’ on the payroll of the Authority.

In a statement issued by Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Presidential Spokesman and Minister of State in-charge of Government Communications, copied to the Ghana News Agency, he said the ghost names were detected following a head count of active National Service personnel at the behest of the Minister of Finance as a prerequisite for the clearance of allowance arrears dating back to August, 2024.

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It said the Ministry of Finance had upon the completion of the head count, released an amount of GHS 226,019,224 covering allowance payment arrears for 98,145 actual National Service Personnel.

“This figure is 81,885 less than the 180,030 names presented by the previous management of the Authority for allowance payment in 2024,” it said.

The statement said President Mahama had also tasked the new management of the Authority to carry out urgent reforms, with the view to establishing adequate controls to prevent a recurrence of the phenomenon of ghost names.

GNA