Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has advised public servants to be more vigilant when approving official documents.
He made the suggestion following revelations that 12 former employees of the National Service Authority have embezzled a total of GHC548m.
Speaking on TV3’s KeyPoints on June 14, Dafeamekpor stressed that holding public office comes with a duty of prudence and accountability.
“It should be a guide to all of us in public service. When you are given a mandate to exercise, you must be prudent,” he said.
He warned against the growing habit of blindly signing documents without proper scrutiny by Chief Executive Officers, especially when one is rushed.
“Sometimes you sit in your car, and they bring you the document. You’re in a hurry, and you just sign,” he said, suggesting that such carelessness contributes to financial mismanagement and poor oversight in public institutions.
It is recalled that, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, named 12 individuals, including high-ranking current and former staff of the National Service Authority (NSA), who are set to face criminal charges in connection with the GHC548 million ghost names scandal.
At a media briefing in Accra on Friday, June 13, Dr Ayine confirmed that his office, in collaboration with the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), had concluded its investigation into the elaborate payroll fraud scheme that led to the loss of public funds.
He revealed that all 12 suspects will be prosecuted for a range of serious offences.
“All suspects are to be charged with stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for private profit, obtaining public property by false pretence, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering,” he said.
Below are the names of the suspects, all of whom held various positions of trust within the National Service Authority:
- Mustapha Ussif – Former Executive Director
- Osei Assibey Antwi – Former Director-General
- Gifty Oware-Mensah – Former Deputy Executive Director
- Ohene Gyan – Former Deputy Executive Director for Operations
- Abraham Bismark Gaise – Former Internal Auditor
- Kwaku D. Agyei – Accounts Officer
- Iddrisu Ibn Abubakar – Former Head of Accounts
- Stephen Kwabena Gyamfi – Koforidua Director, NSA
- Price A. Awuku – District Director
- Jacob Yawson – MIS Administrator, Northern Region
(Two additional unnamed suspects are reportedly involved and will be added once formally identified.)
According to the AG, the scheme involved the creation of 9,934 ghost names on the NSA payroll. These fake names were used by the suspects to siphon off service allowances meant for real National Service personnel. Some of the funds were fraudulently deposited into ADB Bank accounts, then diverted into private pockets.
Dr Ayine noted that charges will be formally filed in court in the coming days, marking one of the biggest corruption cases involving state payroll in recent history.
By Christabel Success Treve
