Two former top officials of Ghana’s National Service Authority (NSA) have been dragged before the Accra High Court over a wide-ranging corruption scandal involving more than GH¢600 million in public funds.
Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, and Osei Assibey Antwi, former Executive Director, are facing a combined over 20 charges related to stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering and abuse of public office.
According to the Attorney-General’s Department, Oware-Mensah misappropriated GH¢38,458,248.87 between February 2022 and March 2024 while overseeing finance, audit, and procurement at the NSA.
According to a charge sheet cited by MX24 News, the charges leveled against Gifty Oware Mensah include:
- GH¢31.5 million was transferred from a loan facility secured from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) into the account of her private company, Blocks of Life Consult, under the pretext of supplying goods on a hire-purchase basis to service personnel.
- No goods were ever delivered.
- The list of 9,934 National Service Personnel submitted to secure the loan were all ghost names, generated internally using NSA’s system.
- Some of the funds were traced to Amaecom Global Company and other firms linked to Oware-Mensah.
She is charged with:
- Stealing
- Causing financial loss to the state
- Money laundering
- Abuse of public office
The scheme came to light after the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) launched investigations into reports of financial irregularities at the Authority.
In a related but larger case, former NSA Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi has been charged with 14 counts spanning the period August 2021 to February 2025.
The charge sheet details staggering financial losses:
- GH¢500.8 million in allowances paid to over 60,000 non-existent service personnel.
2. Multiple counts of stealing, including:
1. GH¢3.6 million on August 22, 2023
- GH¢516,000 on multiple dates in late 2023
- GH¢1.03 million in December 2023
- GH¢2.06 million in May 2024
3. GH¢8.26 million transferred from NSA’s control account to his personal e-zwich card between 2022 and 2024 — forming the basis of money laundering charges.
Antwi is also accused of siphoning GH¢74 million from the Kumawu Farm Project account:
GH¢55 million (Sept 30, 2022)
GH¢15 million (Oct 20, 2023)
GH¢4 million (Jan 24, 2024)
Prosecutors say these funds were not used for the project and instead went unaccounted for.
Both cases are set to be heard at the High Court in Accra, where state prosecutors will present evidence. Neither Oware-Mensah nor Assibey Antwi has entered a plea yet.
The cases are among the largest public sector financial scandals in recent Ghanaian history, with observers expecting intense legal scrutiny and public interest as proceedings unfold.
About the National Service Authority
The NSA is a government agency responsible for managing Ghana’s compulsory national service scheme for graduates. The revelations of ghost names and widespread embezzlement have raised urgent questions
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