Investigator says 63,673 fictitious names were paid in Ghana
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
An investigator told a Ghanaian court that 63,673 names without verifiable identities received allowances without working during the 2023 and 2024 national service periods. The payments were allegedly made through Agricultural Development Bank from a list linked to Gifty Oware, according to MyJoyOnline.
Detective Sergeant Collins Woode, an investigator with Ghana’s National Bureau of Investigation, told the High Court that 63,673 fictitious identities received allowances without performing work during the 2023 and 2024 national service periods, according to MyJoyOnline. The payments were identified during a forensic analysis of the central management system of the National Service Authority.
Collins Woode, the fourth prosecution witness in the trial of Gifty Oware, former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority, said the names appeared on a list sent to Agricultural Development Bank to process monthly payments. Investigators established, according to his testimony, a direct link between the insertion of the identities into the system and the processing of payment orders.
The system analysed allows national service personnel to be registered and validated before producing the files required for payment of their allowances. The trial is due to continue with the investigator’s cross-examination by the defence, according to MyJoyOnline.
