The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has petitioned the Special Prosecutor to investigate allegations of widespread corruption at the National Service Scheme (NSS), which has reportedly cost the state millions of cedis annually.
The petition, backed by months of investigative work by The Fourth Estate, uncovers fraudulent practices including the creation of fake index numbers, payments to ghost personnel, and inflated figures presented to Parliament.
According to the petition, thousands of fake student index numbers have been generated annually since 2018, enabling ghost names to be fraudulently registered and paid. Institutions such as the University of Education, Winneba; University of Cape Coast; and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are mentioned in connection with these fictitious enrollments.
The NSS is further accused of inflating figures presented to Parliament. For example, in the 2018/2019 service year, while 85,708 personnel were announced as eligible for service, 135,603 were presented to Parliament, revealing a discrepancy of nearly 50,000 names.
The petition also highlights cases of overaged individuals fraudulently enrolled as service personnel. These include a 93-year-old posted to a primary school in the Upper West Region and others in their 70s and 80s assigned to various institutions.
Despite the Ghana Card being mandated for enrollment since 2022, some personnel reportedly used ineligible identification such as student IDs, provisional voter cards, and even private company IDs to gain fraudulent access to the scheme.
A critical aspect of the case involves a documentary prepared by The Fourth Estate, which reportedly uncovers the full scope of corruption within the NSS. The documentary is said to provide detailed evidence, including screenshots from the NSS portal and interviews with insiders.
However, due to a court-placed injunction tied to an ongoing case, the documentary’s release has been halted, preventing public access to the investigative findings.
The MFWA has called on the Special Prosecutor to take swift action to investigate these allegations, recover the misappropriated funds, and prosecute those responsible. They also urge reforms to enhance transparency and accountability within the NSS.
