In a shocking revelation that sheds light on alarming irregularities within the National Service Authority (NSA), Kwaku Krobea Asante, Programmes Manager at the Independent Journalism Project under the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has exposed the manipulation of payroll data.

According to Asante, an investigative report by The Fourth Estate uncovered a widespread practice of inserting “ghost names” into the NSA payroll—a problem that is not only alarming but reflects a much deeper issue of fraud within the system.

“Ghost names in the sense that what the NSA tells us as the number of personnel is different from what they have in their data,” Asante said in an interview on Channel One TV. “Which data we believe eventually gets into the payroll and is paid. Now the government has come to confirm.”

These ghost names, or fabricated entries, were systematically added to the list of active national service personnel, allowing individuals—both real and fictitious—to unlawfully receive allowances meant for legitimate service personnel.

Asante’s investigation uncovered disturbing patterns in the data, including the use of “over-age” people, such as 80- and 90-year-olds, who were listed as service beneficiaries.

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Even more troubling were the fake index numbers tied to universities, which made it appear as though these individuals were graduates entitled to participate in the national service program.

One of the most glaring examples of these irregularities was the discovery that a single name appeared on the NSA payroll up to 226 times.

“Funny names popping up, a single name could be repeated 226 times—a person has completed the same university, read the same programme, the same year, and been deployed,” Asante revealed. “A lot of odd happenings in the data, pointing to the fact that some people have intentionally done that.”

This revelation is part of a wider pattern of fraudulent activity within government systems, a practice that has come to be known as “ghost employees.” These fictitious entries not only defraud the system but also result in a significant waste of taxpayer money. The system is designed to ensure that each Ghanaian citizen who undergoes national service is adequately compensated for their contribution. But what happens when this system is manipulated for personal gain?

In response to these disturbing findings, President Mahama has directed an official investigation into the matter.

The President’s spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, confirmed that the government had already initiated a headcount of active national service personnel. This exercise was conducted at the request of the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as part of efforts to clear outstanding allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.

Mr. Ofosu explained that the headcount revealed a significant discrepancy in the number of service personnel being paid. Upon completing the verification process, the Ministry of Finance released GHS 226,019,224 to settle the arrears for 98,145 legitimate service personnel.

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