By Amoako Kwame
The National Service Authority (NSA) has cut its annual payroll from roughly GH¢1.6 billion to GH¢700 million after implementing stricter verification measures.
Deputy Director-General, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, stated that the Authority has reinforced its payment systems to ensure that only properly validated personnel receive allowances.
In an Interview on Joy FM, the Deputy Director-General emphasized that the steps underscore the NSA’s renewed focus on fiscal discipline and ensuring 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 700 million Ghana cedis.”
The Deputy Director-General indicated that the Authority is currently in arrears by just one month—March—which he described as manageable given the scale of the scheme.
He added that with nearly 99,500 service personnel deployed across the country, the NSA disburses about GH₵50 million in allowances each month, amounting to roughly GH₵600 million annually.
The development comes as legal proceedings continue against former NSA Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi and his deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, over allegations of ghost names on the Authority’s payroll.
Prosecutors claim the scheme involved 9,934 fictitious national service personnel and may have resulted in state losses exceeding GH¢38 million.
