The Office of the Auditor-General (A-G) has invoked its constitutional powers to surcharge former top officials of the National Service Authority (NSA) and their collaborators in a move to recover GH¢2.4 billion unlawfully paid from state coffers.

Following a Technical and Forensic Audit of the NSA systems, which the office describes as a "well-orchestrated conspiracy" designed to systematically defraud the state, the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, has written to the officers involved to pay the amounts totalling GH¢2.4 billion in lieu of justification.

The Daily Graphic has sighted the audit report covering January 2018 to December 2024, which was submitted to Parliament on October 1, 2025.

In an exclusive interview, Mr Asiedu revealed that the investigation implicated the authority’s Director-General, Osei Assibey Antwi, and his deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, as being at the heart of a network of fraudulent schemes.

“The evidence points to a deliberate and coordinated effort to create channels for the illegal siphoning of funds meant for National Service Personnel (NSP),” the Auditor-General stated.

“We are duty-bound to use every power under the law, particularly Article 187(7) of the 1992 Constitution, to recover every pesewa for the state,” he added.

He clarified that, according to Article 187(7) of the constitution, the surcharge process is independent of any criminal court proceedings.

It will, therefore, run concurrently with the Attorney-General's prosecution of the same persons in the court of law.

A staggering 56 per cent of the amount, approximately GH¢169 million, was paid to a single entity, Direct Savings and Loans Ltd, under vendor names “DSLCONSUM” or “NSSDSLCOUM” through 151 transactions.

The report highlights catastrophic control failures: there were no formal agreements with vendors, no evidence of goods delivered, no board approval for the payments, and an initiative entirely outside the NSA’s mandate.

A key suspect, a lady from Kumasi involved in the scheme, has allegedly confessed to consistently withdrawing the monies and handing them over to the Deputy Director-General of NSA, Madam Oware-Mensah. The marketplace portal developer has also reportedly admitted his role.

The audit found that senior NSA management enrolled themselves as service personnel to draw allowances illegally.

Mr Antwi enrolled himself as a voluntary national service person and paid himself a monthly allowance of GH¢516,000 for 16 months, totalling GH¢8.2 million.

Similarly, the former Deputy Director-General registered herself as an NSS personnel and received monthly allowances while simultaneously drawing her full salary as a deputy CEO.

“This is a clear case of conflict of interest and an abuse of office for personal gain. How can those mandated to oversee the scheme turn themselves into beneficiaries?” the Auditor-General questioned.

“The audit report is uncompromising. It demands the NSA provide full documentation to justify the GH¢301.6 million vendor payments, failing which the amount would be recovered”.

“In the absence of appropriate justification, the persons involved would be surcharged with the amount of GH¢301.6 million at the current Bank of Ghana interest rate,” the report states.

The Auditor-General confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the surcharge process against Mr Assibey Antwi and Mrs Oware-Mensah, and the implicated vendors, was now underway.

The audit further revealed payments to “ineligible personnel” as the authority enrolled and paid allowances totalling GH¢1.97 million to persons either below the eligible age of 18 or above 60.

In a finding that defies belief, the audit uncovered some of the persons on the NSA payroll to be 1,027 years old.

The report also flagged payments of GH¢2.2 million to two companies owned by a sitting NSA Board Member for “monitoring and evaluation” services, a clear breach of procurement and public service ethics.