By Ashiadey Dotse
Deputy Director General in charge of Operations at the National Service Authority (NSA), Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, has revealed that the Authority has reduced its annual payroll from about GH₵1.6 billion to roughly GH₵700 million after removing ghost names and tightening its payment systems.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, he described the significant reduction as evidence that ongoing reforms are producing results.
“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,” he said.
Lt. Col. Kpeungu explained that the savings were not achieved by reducing the number of national service personnel, but by strengthening verification processes for monthly allowance payments.
Under the new system, each service person’s monthly assessment must be endorsed by a supervisor at their place of posting. The report is then verified at the district level, reviewed by an internal auditor, approved by a regional director, and finally reconciled by accountants at the NSA head office before payment is made through the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
He admitted the process involves several layers of checks but stressed that it is fully digital and has not caused major payment delays.
The Deputy Director General added that the Authority currently owes service personnel only one month’s allowance, March which he described as manageable.
With nearly 99,500 personnel deployed nationwide, the NSA spends about GH₵50 million monthly on allowances, amounting to an estimated GH₵600 million annually.
