President of the policy think tank IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has urged the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that monies are retrieved and the systems fixed in the National Service Authority scandal.
He explains that this should not be one for the headlines, which fade like others have done over the years.
Franklin Cudjoe emphasized that if Ghana fails to act, the next heist is already in motion. The names will change. The numbers will grow. And the ghosts will march again, silent, digital, and deadly”.
His post on social media read, “This must not become another headline that fades into dust. The Republic must recover what was lost and fix what failed. Biometric verification must be mandatory for all public disbursements. Audit reports must be made public. Bank verifications must include real-time data checks, not spreadsheets alone.
If Ghana fails to act, the next heist is already in motion. The names will change. The numbers will grow. And the ghosts will march again, silent, digital, and deadly.
Because the ghosts have learnt accounting, and the living have learnt silence”.
The Office of the Attorney-General has filed criminal charges against two former senior officials of the National Service Authority (NSA) in connection with an alleged GH¢653 million corruption scandal.
The accused, former Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi and former Deputy Executive Director Gifty Oware-Mensah, are facing separate prosecutions at the Accra High Court for their alleged roles in two elaborate financial schemes that defrauded the state through ghost service personnel and fake bank loans.
Court filings indicate that Mr. Antwi faces 14 counts, including causing financial loss to the Republic, stealing, and money laundering.
He is accused of authorizing payments to over 60,000 fictitious service personnel, resulting in losses exceeding GHC 500 million.
Prosecutors further allege that he diverted more than GH¢106 million from the NSA’s Kumawu Farm Project and transferred GH¢8.26 million into his personal e-zwich account.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Oware-Mensah faces five counts, including willfully causing financial loss and using public office for profit.
She allegedly created nearly 10,000 fake service records and used them to secure a GH¢31.5 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank through her private company, Blocks of Life Consult.
The prosecution says she transferred over GH¢22 million to another company she co-owned, causing a total loss of GH¢38.4 million to the state.
The two are expected to make their first court appearances in the coming days as the state pursues one of Ghana’s most significant corruption cases in recent years.
