The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has revealed that investigations have uncovered how former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, along with other officials, diverted service funds for private use.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra today, Dr. Ayine disclosed that Gifty Oware-Mensah, while serving as Acting Director, fraudulently registered a company—Blocks of Life Consult—using the identities of unsuspecting individuals.
She subsequently secured a GH¢30.7 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) at an interest rate of 23%, falsely claiming the funds would be used to provide home appliances to service personnel on a hire-purchase basis.
The loan, obtained under false pretenses, was funneled through her husband, lawyer Peter Mensah, and a middleman, Maxwell Akwesi Ofori-Mintah. Rather than supplying the stated goods, the funds were transferred into the accounts of four other entities—AMEACOM, Scafold, OTCHEY, and Aristo Logistics and Trading—all allegedly linked to NSA staff and associates.
Ghost Names and Payroll Fraud
Between 2022 and 2024, nearly 10,000 ghost names were allegedly inserted into NSA payroll data to siphon off funds. The Ministry’s investigation confirmed that GH¢8.26 million was paid into an Ezwich account registered in the name of former Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi, who personally accessed the funds. The corresponding Ezwich card was later recovered from his residence.
Additionally, Eric Nyarko and Iddrisu Ibn Abu-Bakr, both former heads of accounts at the NSA, were found to have prepared and transmitted the fraudulent payroll data to GHIPSS with the direct approval of successive Director-Generals between 2017 and 2024.
Suspicious Vendor Payments
The report also exposed questionable payments amounting to hundreds of millions of cedis made to vendors via the NSA Central Management System between 2017 and 2024. Major recipients included:
Rose Hamilton (Marine Ventures) – GH¢50.75 million
Haruna Mawulaya (Al-Fayda Ventures) – GH¢21.3 million
Isaac Asamani (Option Buy Ventures) – GH¢11.45 million
Sylvia Ntriwa Opare (Sylsona Ventures) – GH¢10.75 million
Jacob Yawson (Nyansapo Ventures) – GH¢19.2 million
Philomina Arthur & Stephen Kwabena Gyamfi (Brainwave Ventures) – GH¢17.65 million
Despite the significant sums disbursed, none of the vendors could produce documentation to verify that the payments were tied to actual goods or services delivered.
Dr. Ayine further revealed that additional evidence has been uncovered, resulting in the arrest of one of the suspects.
