Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has expressed the view that the Attorney-General should rather be interested in retrieving money that has allegedly gone into people’s pockets in the National Service Scheme Scandal.
He notes that a lot of money is involved in this matter.
“There is a lot of money involved in this case. My opinion is that the AG should rather concentrate on recouping the stolen money instead of prison time,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 14.
Martin Kpebu further made the point that the NSS scandal is one of the reasons why the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was kicked out of office in the 2024 general elections.
“This scandal justifies why Ghanaians decided to kick out the NPP. The records of Akufo-Addo in the fight against corruption can never be compared to those of President Mahama,” he said.
On Friday, June 13, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, revealed that Ghana lost over GHC 548 million through a criminal enterprise operating within the National Service Authority (NSA).
He confirmed that investigations have concluded, and charges will be filed against 12 suspects involved in the scandal, including former Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah, who allegedly masterminded the operation.
During a media briefing in Accra, Dr Ayine stated:
He explained that the scheme involved the creation of ghost names by conspirators and market agents, enabling perpetrators to divert public funds into private pockets:
“Monies approved by Parliament for projects submitted by NSS were deposited to ADB Bank accounts and diverted into private pockets.”
Dr Ayine paid tribute to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) for their work:
“I have received the docket compiled by diligent investigators at NIB. The dockets were compiled under close supervision led by my office.”
“Suspect Gifty Oware-Mensah used a total of 9,934 ghost names to perpetuate said diversion of funds… used NSS data to obtain a loan of over GHC 30 million with interest of 23 percent from ADB… created a company named Blocks of Life Consult with her husband, a lawyer, as one of the directors.”
“Former Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah created and executed a meticulous plan using National Service allowances to secure a loan of GHC 30,698,218 from ADB Bank.”
Earlier investigations by security agencies unearthed as many as 81,885 suspect ghost names inserted into the NSS payroll—an anomaly flagged during a February audit requested by President Mahama, who later mandated a full investigation.
