The Auditor General’s Technical and Forensic Audit report has revealed irregular payments amounting to over Ghc8 million made to Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, the former Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA).
The report, which examined payroll and financial transactions related to the National Service Programme (NSP), uncovered a pattern of unusually high payments to Mr. Assibey Antwi under suspicious circumstances.
Key findings from the audit include:
A. Mr. Assibey Antwi was registered in the system using the volunteer number NVPKUMAWUFARMS.
B. Although officially posted to the Greater Accra Region, payroll records indicated that he was assigned to Kumawu Farms, contradicting his official deployment.
C. He was issued an EZWICH card with USN# 1177042059 and received monthly payments of Ghc516,000 between 2023 and 2024.
D. The total sum paid to him over this period was Ghc8,256,000.00
E. Kumawu Farms has 50 registered volunteers, each receiving individual payments via their own EZWICH cards in accordance with the official nominal roll.
F. Crucially, there was no documentation at Kumawu Farms such as sign-in sheets, receipts, or disbursement logs to confirm that Mr. Assibey Antwi either received or distributed funds on behalf of the volunteers.
G. The monthly amount disbursed to him approximates allowance payments for about 712 volunteers, based on the standard NSP monthly allowance of Ghc715.57 per person.
Based on these findings, the Auditor General has recommended that the National Service Authority initiate recovery of the Ghc8,256,000 from Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi and deposit the recovered funds into the Auditor General’s recovery account.
The audit flags these payments as irregular and calls for urgent action to address the financial discrepancies within the National Service payroll system.
Background:
The former Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, is in court facing multiple charges including stealing, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the State.
He has been accused of authorizing payments to over 60,000 non-existent national service personnel, resulting in financial losses amounting to over GH¢1.4 billion.
Mr. Assibey Antwi pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of financial misconduct and is currently standing trial.
The case has drawn significant public attention due to the magnitude of the alleged fraud.
The court has set bail conditions, recently reducing his bail to GH¢623 million, as the matter proceeds to trial
Source: www.Kumasimail.com
