Gifty Mensah, the former Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), is at the center of a massive corruption scandal following allegations that she fraudulently inserted over 80,000 ghost names into the NSS system. The revelation, first reported by The Fourth Estate, has sparked nationwide outrage, with many demanding accountability for the alleged financial losses incurred under her leadership.
Despite the mounting criticisms, Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, has come to Gifty Mensah’s defense, describing the allegations as politically motivated. According to Nana B, the claims against the former NSS boss are baseless and an attempt to tarnish her reputation and that of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In a recent radio interview, Nana B dismissed the corruption allegations, arguing that the NSS payroll system has strict verification processes that make it impossible for ghost names to be added undetected. “The payroll is only activated following stringent verification processes, and only personnel who pass the verification process are paid through the GhiPPS System, a Bank of Ghana subsidiary system,” he emphasized. He further stated that all payments are made only after monthly validations confirm that personnel are at their designated postings.
The Fourth Estate’s investigative report alleged that under Gifty Mensah’s leadership, the NSS was riddled with irregularities, including the registration of individuals with fake identities, overaged persons, and those with foreign IDs. According to the report, these loopholes allowed fraudulent withdrawals of huge sums of money meant for genuine national service personnel.
However, Nana B insists that these claims misrepresent the facts. “The publication by The Fourth Estate is false in suggesting that simply because monies allocated by Parliament exceed verified postings, some ‘ghosts’ are drawing pay,” he argued.
Former NSS executives, including Osei Assibey Antwi and Hon. Mustapha Ussif, have also refuted the allegations, insisting that robust measures were put in place to prevent fraudulent activities during their tenure. “We committed to implementing strong enrolment and verification mechanisms to reduce the occurrences of unscrupulous attempts to circumvent the system,” they said in a joint statement.
With pressure mounting, President Mahama has ordered an investigation into the matter to establish the facts. The outcome of the probe will determine whether Gifty Mensah is guilty of mismanaging the NSS payroll system or if she is the victim of a politically motivated attack.
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