Ghana’s National Service Authority has uncovered a significant payroll fraud operation involving senior officials in the Eastern Region, marking the latest in a series of financial misconduct cases plaguing the country’s public sector.
The authority has interdicted its Birim North District Manager and MIS Manager after they admitted to processing unauthorized payments to ineligible individuals.
The scheme involved validating monthly allowances for 78 personnel over two service years, including many already employed as teachers, nurses, and customs officers. NSA Director-General Felix Gyamfi described the incident as a “breach of public trust” and “direct assault on institutional integrity,” signaling a broader pattern of abuse across multiple regions.
This case highlights persistent vulnerabilities in Ghana’s payroll management systems, particularly weak data integration between the NSA and Controller and Accountant-General’s Department. The fraud involved falsifying enrollment records to allow salaried public employees to simultaneously collect service allowances, violating clear provisions in appointment letters and the Public Services Commission Act.
In response, the NSA has launched nationwide audits and deployed digital verification tools to cross-check service rosters with employment records. The authority issued a May 23 deadline for voluntary compliance, warning that failure to regularize status will result in prosecution and permanent disqualification from public service.
The recurrence of such payroll abuses underscores systemic governance challenges in Ghana’s public financial management. While the NSA’s crackdown demonstrates renewed commitment to accountability, it raises questions about the effectiveness of previous reform efforts and the need for more robust preventative controls across government payment systems.
