Ghana’s National Service Authority (NSA) scandal has taken a dramatic turn, with revelations from the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, indicating that the financial losses involved are far higher than previously estimated.
Addressing the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Wednesday, Dr. Ayine disclosed that a forensic audit conducted by the Auditor General has found that nearly GH¢2.2 billion in state funds were either stolen or illegally expended through the NSA.
The new figure dwarfs the GH¢548 million earlier reported in mid-2025, highlighting what officials now describe as one of the largest public sector fraud cases in recent history.
“The Auditor General’s forensic audit shows that the total amount of money stolen or illegally spent now stands at GH¢2.2 billion,” Dr. Ayine revealed.
“This is significantly higher than the GH¢548 million our investigators initially uncovered.”
The latest revelation adds fresh urgency to the government’s ongoing anti-corruption efforts and raises questions about institutional oversight within public service management.
Meanwhile, the scandal’s most prominent figure, Mrs. Gifty Oware Mensah, the former Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, is facing prosecution over her alleged role in the financial irregularities.
She appeared before the Accra High Court on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, where she was formally charged with five counts, including willfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, money laundering, and using public office for profit.
Prosecutors allege that Mrs. Oware Mensah orchestrated the creation of nearly 9,934 fictitious National Service personnel, siphoning millions of cedis in monthly allowances under these so-called ghost names.
The alleged scheme is said to have caused direct losses of over GH¢38 million to the state during her tenure.
She has, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges, with the court granting her bail in the sum of GH¢10 million pending further investigations and trial.
The Attorney General’s office has indicated that it will amend the charge sheet to reflect the updated findings from the forensic audit.
Analysts have described the development as a “litmus test” for Ghana’s anti-corruption and public financial management systems, calling for tighter payroll verification mechanisms, enhanced data integrity, and stricter accountability frameworks across state institutions.
“This case is not just about individual wrongdoing,” a senior governance expert noted. “It’s about systemic weaknesses that allow large-scale financial manipulations to thrive unchecked.”
With the NSA scandal now ballooning into a multi-billion-cedi controversy, public attention remains fixed on how swiftly and transparently the government and law enforcement agencies will move to recover the lost funds and prosecute those found culpable.
