Ghana’s National Service Scheme (NSS) is reeling from a massive corruption scandal after a fresh investigative report revealed the existence of ghost names on the payroll, allegedly leading to the theft of more than GH¢560 million.
Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem Sai, speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday night, disclosed that the damning report — submitted last week — points fingers at 22 individuals accused of engineering and benefitting from the elaborate payroll fraud.
“It was submitted last week by the investigators. We have started building a docket on that,” he said.
Dr. Srem Sai explained that the alleged fraud is tied to two aspects of the Scheme’s operations — including ghost names and revenue from NSS-run agricultural projects. The ghost name racket alone is at the centre of the financial hemorrhage.
“National Service is in different aspects. There’s an aspect of the projects the secretariat undertakes.
“They have farms where they acquire property, grow and sell produce. Then there’s the issue of paying ghost National Service persons,” he said.
On the specific allegations, he stated clearly:
“When the investigators came, they identified 22 accused persons for the ghost names part.”
According to the report, those implicated are believed to have manipulated NSS records to funnel large sums of public funds into fraudulent accounts over time.
“We are talking about over GH¢560 million. That’s what we are looking at from the 22 individuals that investigators believe were responsible for, if you like, alleged loot.”
Asked whether prosecution was likely, Dr. Srem Sai admitted the weight of the case presents both logistical and strategic dilemmas for the justice system.
“You have to weigh the cost in terms of time [and] effort of bringing all these people to court, and the benefit you get of retrieving the money,” he added.
