The payment of monthly allowances to National Service personnel will henceforth be scrutinised by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) until further notice.
This has become necessary following the uncovering of a massive rot at the National Service Scheme (NSS) which cost the taxpayer GH¢7.9 million in July 2014 alone.
The state is expected to save more than GH¢94 million annually following the move by the BNI to stop further looting of state resources through the payment of allowances to non-existent service persons.
[contextly_sidebar id=”nx2XVy877i9FAhxMbXew7GitmZKgyM7Q”]Explaining the rationale behind the security service’s decision, a source close to the investigators told the Daily Graphic, “We are designing special payment vouchers for the purpose of paying allowances for August 2014.”
“We had to put the payment of allowances for service personnel on hold for August because the extent of the rot was very massive.
Investigations are ongoing, but we cannot stop genuine service persons who are serving Mother Ghana from drawing their salaries,” it said.
As it stands now, payments through existing vouchers have been put on hold because they are being scrutinised.
According to the source, only a few service persons were not paid in July 2014.
“It is unfortunate that thousands of service persons were not paid, but under the circumstance it is important that the right thing is done to stop further dissipation of the public purse through the unscrupulous activities of some public servants,” the source said.
Special payment methods
The Daily Graphic has also been hinted that special payment centres will be set up at regional centres in parts of the country in the coming weeks to settle the arrears of all service personnel.
“Under the new method, service persons will be required to get authority notes from their supervisors or heads of departments where they are currently serving. They will also be required to report with valid identification cards.
“The identification cards will also be scrutinised before they are paid, either directly or through the banks. Their signatures will also be required.
“In short, we are doing everything possible to totally eliminate ghost names from the service payroll,” the source disclosed.
Dates to be announced
A date, according to the source, would be announced in the newspapers and on radio and television to enable service persons to locate the exact places and time to receive their allowances.
“We do not want investigations to be disrupted. That is why we are putting these measures in place.
“We urge all service personnel to bear with us. This is a national exercise which must succeed for the sake of current and future generations.
“The rot is massive and widespread and we need the support of all to bring it to an end,” the source said.
It said the original payment vouchers, together with the special ones, would be made available to auditors after the exercise.
It further explained that the BNI would streamline the operations of the NSS to avert future financial loss.
No hold on allowances
While denying rumours that the BNI had put a permanent freeze on allowances, the source said, “We are only scrutinising payment vouchers to ensure that only genuinely registered NSS personnel are paid.”
“We have instructed that arrangements be made for payments to be effected under our supervision for September 2014 and beyond until all ghost names are weeded out,” it said
It told the Daily Graphic that the rumours which were being circulated among service personnel on social media were “calculated to pit the unsuspecting personnel against the BNI to cover up the gargantuan fraud at the NSS perpetrated against the state”.
“NSS personnel have nothing to fear,” the source assured the personnel.
Background
An amount of GHc7.9 million was lost to the state in July 2014 as a result of payments made to 22,612 non-existent service persons.
Twenty-seven district directors have so far been picked up in connection with the rot but one has been granted bail by the BNI.
According to a BNI report, the GH¢7.9 million represented the allowance paid to 22,612 non-existent service persons.
It said at the current monthly allowance of GH¢350 per service person, that meant that at least GH¢7,914,200 was lost to the state every month.
“Annually, about GH¢94,970,400 in undeserved allowances is lost to the state. The number of ghost names is expected to increase when the exercise is completed,” it said.
Widespread problem
According to the report, investigators discovered that district directors of the scheme were the sole signatories to the accounts opened in the name of the NSS at the district level.
It said it was also established that National Service directors in the districts and most managers of banks where NSS allowances were lodged “worked closely together in these dubious payments”.
Source: Graphic Online