The recent defense by the Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Felix Gyamfi, of the digital platform at the center of a massive ghost names scandal has sparked widespread concern, with critics questioning both the platform’s integrity and the NSA’s oversight.
The scandal, which involved the alleged enrollment of thousands of non-existent individuals into the National Service Scheme (NSS), is believed to have cost the state hundreds of millions of cedis.
At the heart of the controversy is the Central Service Management Portal (CSMP), developed and operated by Inpath Technologies Ghana Ltd.
Felix Gyamfi, who was a district director at the NSA before his recent appointment as Director General, has dismissed claims that the platform itself is to blame, instead pointing fingers at individuals within the NSA who allegedly exploited the system.
However, critics including media professional Sulemana Braimah are challenging that narrative, citing specific contract provisions and operational realities that place significant responsibility on the platform’s developer and operator.
According to Braimah, Inpath Technologies was not only contracted to build the CSMP but also retained full control over its operation, maintenance, and security.
“No one could or was allowed to make any functional changes to the platform except the service provider,” he emphasized.
Key contractual obligations reportedly included the prevention of “malicious intrusions” and the immediate reporting of any security breaches. Despite this, the ghost names persisted for several years, raising questions about what steps, if any, were taken by the service provider to detect and halt the fraudulent activities.
Braimah further questioned who granted unauthorized backend access that enabled the enrollment of fake service personnel—some allegedly using paper ID cards or bearing fake index numbers, and others reportedly as old as 80 or 90 years.
“If not the service provider, who granted the necessary full back-end access rights to modify the functionality of the platform to make it possible for NSS staff to enroll fake personnel without Ghana Card?” he asked.
Critics argue that if the platform was indeed so vulnerable to abuse, defending it as “robust,” as the current Director General has done, is both shocking and unacceptable.
Calls are now mounting for an urgent review and possible termination of the digital platform contract, with stakeholders urging the government to act decisively to prevent further misuse of public funds.
As investigations continue, the spotlight remains fixed on both the NSA leadership and the digital systems entrusted with managing one of the country’s largest youth service programs.
Source :www.kumasimail.com
