The Acting Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Felix Gyamfi, has announced sweeping reforms aimed at eliminating ghost names from the authority’s payroll.
In a recent exclusive interview on Joy FM’s GhanaConnect, Mr. Gyamfi declared that no graduate will be allowed to undertake national service without a Ghana Card or accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC). He emphasized that these new measures represent a firm commitment to addressing the longstanding issue of payroll fraud that has plagued the National Service Scheme for years.
“If you don’t have a Ghana Card, you are not allowed to do national service,” he stated. “The Ghana Card is a high-level form of identification that bars those with questionable identities from entering the system.”
The reforms come in response to President John Mahama’s directive on February 12, 2025, for the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to conduct an immediate investigation into the operations of the NSA. This directive was prompted by the discovery of 81,885 suspected ghost names on the authority’s payroll, following discrepancies identified by the Finance Ministry after a headcount of active National Service personnel. This headcount was necessary for clearing allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
Mr. Gyamfi further stated that the NSA is tightening eligibility criteria to ensure that only graduates from properly accredited institutions are enlisted. “If you are from a school that is not properly accredited by GTEC, you should not be doing national service. These are institutions of questionable character,” he emphasized.
He noted that many of these safeguards had previously existed in the system but were often ignored due to poor leadership and a lack of enforcement.
Additional measures outlined include:
- Mandatory Biometric Validation: Service personnel must physically present themselves at NSA offices monthly to be validated using biometric systems before salaries are processed.
- Strict Age and Registration Compliance: Anyone who exceeds the service age limit or bypasses the formal registration process will be automatically disqualified.
- Live Verification Protocols: Personnel will not be placed on the payroll unless they are physically verified and validated by NSA officers.
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