KEY POINTS
- NSS scandal reveals ex-chief took GH¢8.2 million in payments.
- Audit links funds to fraudulent volunteer posting and ghost records.
- Attorney-general says prosecution will follow after investigations.
An audit of Ghana’s National Service Authority (NSA) has uncovered what investigators describe as one of the most striking irregularities in the agency’s recent history. The report shows that Osei Assibey Antwi, who served as Director-General, was at the same time posted as a volunteer and collected GH¢8.2 million over a 16-month period.
NSS scandal exposes double role and payouts
According to the forensic and technical audit, Antwi was designated as a volunteer during the 2022/2023 service year, barely a year after he took office as the NSA’s Director-General. Records show he was assigned an EZWICH card with the number 1177042059 and posted to the Greater Accra Region after registering as a volunteer. Payroll records, however, list him as assigned to Kumawu Farms in the Ashanti Region, a 200-acre mixed farming project established under his administration.
The auditors reported that Antwi received GH¢516,000 every month for 16 months, totaling GH¢8,256,000. To put that figure in perspective, at the current national service allowance of GH¢715.57, the amount could have paid stipends for about 721 service personnel.
NSS scandal aligns with wider fraud probes
The audit findings were consistent with earlier remarks from Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Ayine, who in June confirmed that GH¢8.2 million had been deposited into an EZWICH account registered in Antwi’s name. Investigators later found the card during a search of his residence.
The audit findings follow earlier work by investigative outlet The Fourth Estate, which in 2024 uncovered thousands of ghost names on the NSA payroll, raising concerns of large-scale fraud. The NSA leadership at the time attempted to block publication through the courts.
According to MyJoyOnline, The Media Foundation for West Africa, which runs The Fourth Estate, petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor, while the matter was later taken up by Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL). On June 13, Ayine announced that prosecutions would begin against Antwi and other former executives, accusing them of practices that drained more than GH¢548 million from state funds.
Ayine credited The Fourth Estate with exposing the scheme, saying its reporting provided the foundation for the current investigations.r the excellent foundational work that they did,” he said.
