A technical and forensic audit by the Auditor-General has revealed that Gifty Oware-Mensah, Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), was improperly enrolled as a national service personnel while already serving as a full-time, salaried public officer.
The audit report indicates that Mrs. Oware-Mensah was manually uploaded into the National Service Scheme system on March 16, 2021, based on her Master of Public Administration degree from KNUST, despite being ineligible under statutory rules.
Her full allowance of GH¢6,708.48 (GH¢559.04 per month for 12 months) was deducted and paid to a vendor through the NSA’s “MarketPlace” platform for a purported credit facility. The enrolment was approved on April 22, 2021, by then-Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, who the audit notes lacked the authority to approve such a PIN assignment.
Mrs. Oware-Mensah was posted to Koblimahagu Sobriya Primary School in Tamale but did not report for duty or undergo any biometric validation, yet her name remained on the payroll.
The forensic audit further revealed that she was among 4,556 individuals improperly enrolled as service personnel, resulting in irregular expenditures totaling GH¢899,349.67. Only 19 of those enrolled met the basic criteria for validation and approval.
Investigators attributed the anomaly to manual overrides, weak system controls, and the absence of automated checks to prevent salaried public officers from being enrolled as national service personnel. The report also highlighted misuse of the NSA’s “MarketPlace” platform, which facilitated deductions and fund diversion without proof of goods or services delivered.
The Auditor-General warned that such actions breached public trust, compromised the integrity of the National Service Scheme, and created avenues for fraud. Recommendations included recovering the funds involved and surcharging Ms. Oware-Mensah and other responsible officials, including Osei Assibey Antwi and Eric Nyarko, with the full amount plus interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate.
The report also advised that disciplinary action be taken against officers who bypassed standard protocols and that automated checks be implemented to prevent future instances of dual enrolment of public officers.
