Gifty Oware-Mensah, a member of the Ghana Football Association’s Executive Council and former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), has been named in a damning report by the Attorney General for her alleged role in a widespread payroll fraud scandal involving nearly 10,000 ghost names.
According to the Attorney General, who addressed the press on Friday, June 13, 2025, Oware-Mensah used her position at the NSS to siphon millions of cedis in public funds by manipulating payroll records.
The AG revealed that she deliberately inflated the NSS payroll by adding non-existent names over a two-year period.
“Within two service years, Gifty Oware-Mensah used a total of 9,934 ghost names to misappropriate public funds,” he stated.
This revelation adds to an ongoing probe into massive financial irregularities at the NSS during her tenure.
Earlier audits had uncovered a staggering discrepancy between the actual number of active service personnel and the figures submitted for payment.
In 2024, while only 98,145 personnel were confirmed to be in active service, the NSS payroll listed 180,030 names, an inflation of 81,885 ghost names.
This bloated payroll is estimated to have cost the state approximately GH¢50 million every month.
Oware-Mensah’s alleged role in the scandal extends beyond payroll padding. Separate investigations have also linked her to a fraudulent GH¢30 million loan secured through a fake company using stolen identities.
FKA/MA
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