The Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Felix Gyamfi, has expressed shock at the scale of payroll fraud within the institution, describing it as “criminal, immoral, shocking, grim, and despicable.” Speaking on PM Express, he stated that since assuming office 15 days ago, he has collaborated with the presidency to uncover the extent of the issue and implement corrective measures.
“although I arrived 15 days ago at the NSA, we had had hints of what was going on. So at the back of this appointment, we had started preparing what we had to do. So right from day one, we wanted to know who is where and what numbers ought to be paid,” he said.
The revelation of over 80,000 suspected ghost names on the payroll has raised concerns, with Gyamfi confirming that the Minister of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General requested actual numbers from the National Service Authority. He emphasized that a thorough headcount had been conducted to validate the figures. “We have had to go through several pathways to make sure that the numbers that we have there are valid or come close to what people are actual.” he stressed.
Despite identifying 98,000 individuals on the payroll, Gyamfi revealed that some payments are still being withheld pending verification. “Yes, 98,000. We are still going to hold on with some payments. “… in the subsequent days, other people will be paid. But we are still going to hold on with certain payments to check and make sure that these people are there,” he stated.
The Director General noted that existing safeguards could have prevented the fraud if they had been properly enforced. “There are not a lot of issues There are people in conflict areas that I have to check and make sure that they actually haven’t fled. And then all the safeguards were there. If they had allowed the safeguards to work, we wouldn’t have been here, ” he remarked.
Gyamfi disclosed that the consultant had made several attempts to alert the previous National Service Authority leadership to the issue but was ignored. He said, “the consultant tells me he has written countless numbers of letters to the former Director General, asking him to allow him to do this. And then somehow his concerns were not listened to.”
He attributed the failures to poor leadership, stating, “If you have the right leadership that is decisive and firm, you wouldn’t have reports of this manner. And that is what every Ghanaian should look up to me. I will lead with integrity and these things will be a thing of the past very soon.”
To enhance security and prevent further fraud, Gyamfi emphasized that the National Service Authority’s system will undergo a comprehensive audit by top firms , and the report put out for everybody to see.
Additionally, Gyamfi proposed a collaboration with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to cross-check service personnel numbers, stating, “The universities wouldn’t like to lie to G-Tech, but somehow they were lying to National Service.”
With ongoing investigations by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Gyamfi assured that a full report will be submitted to the President. “there is an investigation going on, a report will be given to the President. I would not want to speak in a manner that will pre-empt the findings of this investigation.” he affirmed.
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