National Service Scandal Is Being Probed –New DG

The Director-General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Mr Gyamfi Felix, has assured personnel across the country that they will receive all outstanding allowances from August 2024 to January 2025.

He has assured the public that the scandal that rocked the service is being addressed by the appropriate agencies.

Addressing the media in Accra yesterday, he reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to ensuring that service personnel are paid on time, despite recent challenges at the Scheme.

“Our obligation to service personnel is paramount. They must be paid on time and all necessary administrative processes to engage the new batch must be in place. Since Ruth and I arrived here on the 23rd, this has been our primary concern,” he stated.

Crackdown on Corruption and Payroll Fraud

The Director-General also addressed the recent payroll fraud scandal that rocked the NSS, emphasising that investigations are ongoing. While acknowledging the gravity of the situation, he refrained from making comments that could pre-empt the outcome of these investigations.

“There are laws governing this country. When crimes are committed, there are established rules that must be followed.

“Crimes have been committed—or purported to have been committed. The investigative bodies are doing their work, and I will not make comments that will pre-empt their findings,” he said.

He lamented the actions of those responsible for the scandal, describing them as a betrayal of the very people they were meant to serve.

“It is just so sad that the people who were supposed to ensure we benefit from the engagement of service personnel are the very ones who failed us.

“How could Ghanaians, knowing the state of our economy, commit fraud of such magnitude against their own brothers and sisters?” he questioned.

The Director-General made it clear that his administration would not tolerate any such fraudulent activities under his watch.

“People must be confident that we are different. The fact that others perpetrated this doesn’t mean I will sit here and allow a fraction of that to happen again. We have already taken steps to ensure such incidents do not recur.”

Ensuring System Integrity

Addressing concerns about the NSS’s operational framework, the Director-General defended the current system, but acknowledged the need for stricter oversight.

He noted that while some had called for a complete overhaul of the system following the scandal, evidence suggested that the problem was not the system itself but individuals who deliberately bypassed it for personal gain.

“The system must be left to work. It was introduced in 2017, and if those responsible had followed the right processes, this fraud would not have occurred. However, if there is proof that the system is flawed beyond repair, I am open to reviewing it. But we must act based on evidence, not mere speculation,” he asserted.

To prevent future fraud, he proposed a collaborative approach involving key stakeholders such as the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), anti-corruption agencies, and auditing firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG to audit the system.

“I invite Sulemana Braimah (Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa) and other stakeholders to visit the NSS office for a full briefing on the system’s operations. Hearsay is different from evidence, and we need evidence to make informed decisions,” he emphasized.

New Measures to Prevent Fraud

Going forward, the NSS will implement stricter regulations for processing personnel lists. These are: Universities and colleges must have accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) before their graduates can be considered for national service.

Lists submitted by institutions must match records at GTEC, or they will be invalidated. Manual payroll entries will be phased out in favour of automation to minimize human interference and fraud. The Director-General warned that any NSS staff found culpable in the payroll fraud will not be shielded.

“If you are involved, the law will take its course. We are heading towards payroll automation, and this is the last time people will manually input names into the system. We will not allow a repeat of this scandal,” he declared.

Despite the ongoing investigations, the Director-General reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that national service operations continue smoothly.

“At the end of the day, the outcome of the investigations will not stop service personnel from doing their work. National service contributes significantly to Ghana’s development, and we owe it to the personnel to ensure they are paid and protected,” he concluded.

 

 

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