The National Service Authority (NSA) in Ghana is facing serious allegations of fraud involving ghost personnel and fake student records. Since 2018, this scheme has reportedly cost the state millions of Ghana cedis annually, raising questions about oversight in public institutions.

 

Investigations by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) revealed that thousands of fake student index numbers were created and added to national service deployment lists. Examples include fake IDs like “3916GHA/714448344/5” tied to major institutions such as the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), and the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

 

The NSA is accused of inflating its deployment numbers, with discrepancies found between figures presented to Parliament and actual data. This allowed the fraudulent addition of ghost personnel, who then received allowances meant for genuine service members.

 

Evidence submitted to the Special Prosecutor includes detailed spreadsheets and screenshots showing thousands of fake entries. While institutions like UEW and UCC are implicated due to their names appearing on the fake IDs, their direct involvement remains uncertain.

 

These revelations have sparked public outrage, with citizens demanding accountability. The Special Prosecutor has promised a thorough investigation. This case serves as a reminder of the urgent need for stronger systems to combat corruption in Ghana.

 

This is the details of the scanned documents.

 

In a shocking development, a months-long investigation by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has unearthed widespread corruption within the National Service Authority (NSA), Ghana’s institution responsible for managing the deployment of graduates to national service roles. The investigation, led by MFWA’s investigative journalism arm, The Fourth Estate, reveals that systemic corruption has cost the state millions of cedis annually since 2018.

 

The revelations are contained in a formal petition filed by the MFWA to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, urging immediate action. According to the petition, fraudulent practices at the NSA involve the creation and use of thousands of fake student index numbers assigned to non-existent graduates. These fictitious individuals are then added to the national service payroll, siphoning vast sums of money into private pockets.

 

 

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The Mechanism of the Fraud

 

The investigation details how thousands of fake student index numbers are fabricated each year and assigned to ghost graduates. These index numbers are then used to process enlistment into the national service scheme. Institutions such as the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), University of Cape Coast (UCC), University for Development Studies (UDS), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and Tamale Technical University are named as among those whose records are being misused to perpetrate the fraud.

 

Examples of fabricated index numbers cited in the petition include identifiers like:

 

University of Education, Winneba: 3907GHA/724361353/0, UEW/2019/18

 

University of Cape Coast: UCC/2020/945, WES/SCI/19/06081

 

University for Development Studies: 506/GHA-001956888-1, EST/0104/05

 

KNUST: 3916GHA/714448344/5, 3917GHA/714495890/4

 

Dambai College of Education: DTC/U/451/2019, DTC/U/522/2019

 

 

The fraudulent scheme has been in operation since at least the 2018/2019 service year, systematically bleeding the state of resources meant to support genuine national service deployments.