Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the National Investigations Bureau to investigate the operations of the National Service Authority following the discovery of 81,885 suspected ghost names on its payroll.
The discrepancy was uncovered during a headcount of active National Service personnel, conducted by the Ministry of Finance, to address allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
After verifying the numbers, the ministry released GHS 226,019,224 (almost $14.7 million) to settle payments for 98,145 legitimate personnel—a significant reduction from the 180,030 names initially submitted by the previous management.
In response to the findings, President Mahama has directed the new leadership of the National Service Authority to implement urgent reforms aimed at strengthening internal controls and preventing similar issues in the future.
Meanwhile, Ghana's anti-corruption efforts gained further momentum as the Office of the Special Prosecutor labeled former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta a "wanted fugitive" due to his suspected involvement in five transactions currently under investigation for corruption and related offenses.