The Office of the Auditor-General has triggered its constitutional mandate to surcharge former executives of the National Service Authority (NSA) and their collaborators after a sweeping forensic audit uncovered fraudulent payments amounting to GH¢2.4 billion.

The audit, which covered January 2018 to December 2024, exposed what the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, described as a “carefully coordinated conspiracy” designed to divert funds meant for National Service Personnel (NSP). A copy of the report, sighted by the Daily Graphic, has since been submitted to Parliament.

In an exclusive interview, Mr. Akuamoah Asiedu revealed that the Director-General of the Authority, Osei Assibey Antwi, and his deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, were central figures in the elaborate scheme.

“The evidence points clearly to a deliberate effort to create channels for the illegal siphoning of state funds,” he emphasized. “Under Article 187(7) of the Constitution, we are obligated to recover every pesewa wrongfully taken from the state.”

He explained that the surcharge process is independent of criminal prosecution and will proceed alongside the Attorney-General’s legal action.

Ghost Marketplace Scheme at the Centre of the Fraud


According to the report, the most brazen component of the operation was a virtual marketplace allegedly created for service personnel to buy goods on credit, with repayments deducted from their monthly allowances. However, forensic checks revealed it was nothing more than an engine for generating ghost transactions.

“All the supposed service personnel who ‘purchased’ items through this marketplace never existed,” the Auditor-General disclosed. “The entire system was fictional.”

Using the Ezwich and Ghanapay platforms, the audit discovered that GH¢301.6 million was channelled into 32 vendor accounts. Shockingly, 56 percent of that figure—approximately GH¢169 million—went to a single institution, Direct Savings and Loans Ltd, under the vendor names “DSLCONSUM” or “NSSDSLCOUM.”

The report cited severe lapses in oversight: no contracts with vendors, no proof of goods supplied, no board approval for millions paid out, and a program entirely outside the NSA’s legal mandate.

A key suspect—a woman in Kumasi—has allegedly confessed to withdrawing cash and handing it over regularly to Deputy Director-General Gifty Oware-Mensah. The developer of the marketplace platform also reportedly admitted his involvement.

Top NSA Officials Enrolled Themselves as Service Personnel


The audit also uncovered blatant abuses of office. Senior officials allegedly enrolled themselves as National Service Personnel to draw additional allowances illegally.

Mr. Assibey Antwi is reported to have listed himself as a voluntary service person and paid himself GH¢516,000 every month for 16 months—totalling GH¢8.2 million.

Similarly, his deputy, Mrs. Oware-Mensah, is said to have registered as a service person and received monthly allowances while already drawing a full salary as a deputy CEO.

“This is unconscionable,” Mr. Akuamoah Asiedu said. “How can those entrusted with the stewardship of public resources convert themselves into beneficiaries of the scheme they are mandated to supervise?”

Inflated Ages and Payments to Ineligible Personnel


The audit catalogued additional alarming irregularities:

  • Allowances totalling GH¢1.97 million were paid to individuals below 18 and above 60 years of age—outside the legally approved age bracket for national service.

  • Shockingly, some names on the payroll were listed as over 1,000 years old, with one recorded at 1,027 years.

  • Payments amounting to GH¢2.2 million were made to two companies owned by a sitting NSA Board Member for “monitoring and evaluation,” in clear violation of procurement laws and public sector ethics.

Surcharges Underway


The Auditor-General confirmed that surcharge notices have already been initiated against Mr. Assibey Antwi, Mrs. Oware-Mensah, and the implicated vendors. The NSA has also been instructed to produce documentation to justify the GH¢301.6 million in vendor payments—failure of which the full amount will be recovered with interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate.

“The state must not lose a single cedi,” Mr. Asiedu insisted. “We will restore accountability, no matter how powerful those involved may be.”