Auditor-General Exposes Irregular Enrolment of NSA Deputy Director as Service Person While on State Salary

 October 30, 2025

A forensic audit by the Auditor-General has revealed that the former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah (also known as Gifty Oware-Aboagye), was irregularly enrolled as a national service person while she was already a full-time, salaried public official.

According to the audit findings, Mrs. Oware-Aboagye was manually added to the National Service Scheme (NSS) database on March 16, 2021, based on her Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The manual insertion into the database bypassed standard verification and eligibility screening processes that are typically required for legitimate national service enrolment.

Despite her ineligibility under the NSA's statutory regulations, which prohibit serving public officials from enrolling as service personnel, Mrs. Oware-Aboagye was placed on the national service payroll and assigned a post at Koblimahagu Sobriya Primary School in Tamale. However, the report states that she never reported for duty at the assigned school and did not undergo biometric validation, yet continued to receive monthly allowances throughout the period.

The audit uncovered that Mrs. Oware-Aboagye's full annual allowance of GH¢6,708.48, comprising GH¢559.04 per month for 12 months, was deducted in full and paid to a vendor via the "MarketPlace" platform under the guise of a credit facility. This arrangement raises serious questions about the mechanism used to divert public funds meant for legitimate national service personnel to third-party vendors without proper authorization or oversight.

The MarketPlace platform, which is designed to provide credit facilities to service personnel for purchasing essential items, appears to have been misused in this case to channel the entire annual allowance away from the enrollee. The audit did not clarify whether Mrs. Oware-Aboagye received any goods or services in exchange for these payments or whether the funds were simply redirected for other purposes.

Mrs. Oware-Aboagye's registration was approved by then-Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, on April 22, 2021, approximately one month after her manual insertion into the NSS database. The ministerial approval, despite the clear statutory violations and the fact that she was already serving as Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, raises questions about the due diligence exercised in reviewing and approving national service registrations at the highest levels.

The case of Mrs. Oware-Aboagye was part of a broader irregular enrolment exercise that affected 4,556 individuals who were improperly added to the national service payroll. The report estimates the total financial loss from these improper enlistments at GH¢899,349.67, representing a significant drain on public resources that should have been reserved for genuine national service personnel.

Of the 4,556 individuals irregularly enrolled during this period, only 19 individuals met the required criteria for validation and approval as service personnel. This means that over 99% of those enrolled in this particular exercise were ineligible, pointing to either systemic failures in the verification process or deliberate manipulation of the national service system for fraudulent purposes.

The Auditor-General described the incident as a serious breach of the service's eligibility rules and a misuse of public funds. The report noted that the National Service Scheme is governed by specific statutory regulations that clearly define who qualifies for enrolment, and public officials already receiving government salaries are explicitly excluded from eligibility.

The audit findings raise several critical questions about governance and accountability within the National Service Authority. How was a senior official of the NSA able to be enrolled in the same scheme she was responsible for administering? What oversight mechanisms failed to detect this irregularity for the duration of the service period? Who authorized the payment of allowances without biometric validation or confirmation of service at the assigned post?

The Auditor-General recommended the implementation of stronger verification controls to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Specific recommendations include mandatory biometric validation before any payments are disbursed, automated cross-checking of enrolees against the government payroll database to identify public officials, enhanced monitoring of the MarketPlace platform to prevent unauthorized diversions of allowances, regular audits of new enrolments to detect anomalies early, and disciplinary action against officials who approved irregular registrations.

Legal experts have indicated that the irregular enrolment and payment of allowances to ineligible persons could constitute criminal offenses under Ghana's public financial management laws, including causing financial loss to the state, abuse of office, and potential fraud. The individuals involved, including those who approved the registrations and processed the payments, could face prosecution if investigations determine that laws were violated.

Civil society organizations and anti-corruption advocates have called for thorough investigations into the matter and prosecution of all individuals found to have participated in the scheme. They argue that such blatant misuse of public resources undermines the integrity of the national service scheme and deprives genuine service personnel of opportunities and benefits.

The National Service Scheme was established to provide young graduates with practical work experience and to contribute to national development by deploying trained personnel to areas of need. The revelation that the system has been manipulated to benefit ineligible individuals, including senior public officials, has damaged public confidence in the institution.

The then-Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, who approved Mrs. Oware-Aboagye's registration, has not yet commented publicly on the audit findings. Attempts to reach him for clarification on the approval process and whether he was aware of her status as a serving public official at the time of approval have been unsuccessful.

Mrs. Oware-Aboagye, who served as Deputy Executive Director of the NSA during the period in question, has also not issued any public statement regarding the allegations. Her position at the NSA would have given her intimate knowledge of the scheme's eligibility requirements and operating procedures, making her alleged participation in the irregular enrolment particularly troubling.

The current management of the National Service Authority has indicated that it is reviewing the audit findings and will cooperate fully with any investigations. The authority has assured the public that measures are being put in place to prevent future occurrences of such irregularities, including system upgrades and enhanced verification protocols.

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee is expected to summon officials from the National Service Authority, including those who served during the period covered by the audit, to provide explanations and account for the financial losses. The Committee has a mandate to examine audit reports and ensure that public officials are held accountable for financial irregularities.

The broader irregular enrolment exercise that affected over 4,500 individuals suggests that the problem was not isolated to Mrs. Oware-Aboagye but was part of a systematic exploitation of weaknesses in the national service registration and payment systems. Investigators will need to determine whether this was the result of negligence, poor controls, or deliberate fraud involving multiple actors.

The Auditor-General's office has indicated that it will continue to monitor the National Service Authority's implementation of the recommended reforms and will conduct follow-up audits to verify compliance. The office has also called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and other relevant agencies to investigate the matter with a view to recovering the lost funds and prosecuting those responsible.

This scandal adds to growing concerns about financial management and accountability in public institutions in Ghana. It underscores the importance of robust internal controls, regular audits, and the enforcement of consequences for those who abuse public office for personal gain or enable others to do so.

As investigations into this matter proceed, Ghanaians will be watching closely to see whether those responsible for this misuse of public funds will be held accountable and whether meaningful reforms will be implemented to prevent similar abuses in the future. The outcome of this case will serve as an important test of the government's commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law.