The National Service Authority (NSA) has trimmed its yearly payroll from about GH¢1.6 billion to GH¢700 million after rolling out stricter verification systems.
The Deputy Director-General of the NSA, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, revealed that the Authority has tightened its payment procedures to ensure only properly verified personnel receive allowances.
He explained that the new framework was built to stop irregular payouts, especially those tied to ghost names, by applying tougher checks before funds were released.
According to Lt. Col. Kpeungu, the major savings were secured not by cutting the number of service persons posted nationwide, but by tightening controls on how monthly allowances were handled.
He noted that under the updated system, every national service person must complete a monthly review, which must be duly signed off by a supervisor at their place of posting before payment was cleared.
The Deputy Director-General stressed that the steps showed the NSA’s renewed focus on fiscal discipline and value for money.“
Previously, the payroll of the government was about 1.5 to 1.6 billion every year. As of last year, we paid barely about GH¢700 million,” he said.
The update comes amid ongoing court cases involving former NSA Director-General, Osei Assibey Antwi, and his deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, over claims of ghost names on the Authority’s payroll.
The alleged scheme involves 9,934 non-existent national service personnel, with prosecutors stating that the breaches may have cost the state losses above GH¢38 million.
Lt. Col. Kpeungu further disclosed that the Authority has cleared most arrears owed to service personnel, with only one month—March—pending, adding that steps are underway to settle the outstanding payments.
