The National Service Authority (NSA) has uncovered widespread irregularities within its system, resulting in the flagging of 8,105 personnel on the national service payroll.
Out of this number, 1,840 individuals have been temporarily suspended as investigations by relevant security and investigative agencies continue.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday, December 15, the Director-General of the Authority, Ruth Dela Seddoh, disclosed that the anomalies were traced to discrepancies involving three tertiary institutions — the University of Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communications Technology University, and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development.
According to her, the irregularities were detected after the Authority cross-checked the number of officially graduated students against the lists submitted by the institutions for national service deployment.
“The number of students who have officially graduated from the schools is compared with the number of students they submitted to us. When you do that, you realise that some schools are complicit in this whole thing, and I must emphasise that it is a huge cartel,” she said.
Mrs Seddoh described the findings as disturbing, noting that they point to a coordinated scheme involving multiple actors.
“Due to the outcome of a very detailed, thorough and comprehensive investigation, we made shocking discoveries that resulted in the flagging of 8,105 individuals in the system. Let me repeat, 8,105 individuals were flagged, and 1,840 individuals have been completely suspended pending the conclusion of further investigations by the security agencies,” she stated.
She added that the investigations uncovered serious misconduct at the three institutions involved.
“The investigations revealed a number of serious irregularities being perpetrated in three tertiary institutions — University of Development Studies, Ghana Communications Technology University, and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development. As a result, 10 members of staff from the various institutions have been arrested and are currently under investigation by the security agencies,” she said.
Responding to concerns about the closure of the national service portal after two extensions, six weeks after it was opened, the Director-General explained that the decision was deliberate and necessary for the validation process.
“This timeline was not arbitrary. For those who think it was just arbitrary on our part to shut the portal, that was not the intention,” she clarified.
She stressed that the shutdown was required to allow for reposting, proper validation, and verification of the physical presence of service personnel at their assigned institutions.
“There were many critical steps that had to follow this phase. It was a carefully structured process, and enforcing the deadline was essential to ensure accurate deployment records, confirm the physical presence of personnel at their stations, eliminate ghost or fraudulent registrations, and facilitate the timely payment of allowances to only verified personnel,” she explained.
