Is National Service Scheme now National Stealing Scheme?

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Fo Koku - Tanyinbge 11 years ago

ARE WE SAYING THERE ARE 600,000 CIVIL SERVANT? HOW MANY ARE GHOST

ARE WE SAYING THERE ARE 600,000 CIVIL SERVANT? HOW MANY ARE GHOST
Emma Boakye 11 years ago

This is an excellent piece! It has been relishing to read. It is quite analytical, in-depth, scholarly and a piece on its own. Well done Kofi! Let us see whether the BNI'S brouhaha over this deadly scam will also be a nine-da ...
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This is an excellent piece! It has been relishing to read. It is quite analytical, in-depth, scholarly and a piece on its own. Well done Kofi! Let us see whether the BNI'S brouhaha over this deadly scam will also be a nine-day wonder hanging around the thick neck of Mahama like the proverbial albatross. God bless u.
Jojo Hammond, New Jersey 11 years ago

Bravo Kofi. I completely agree with you. Corruption has no political color. When some of us say this, we are accused of trying to shield the government of the day from blame. People think blaming NDC and NPP will solve this ...
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Bravo Kofi. I completely agree with you. Corruption has no political color. When some of us say this, we are accused of trying to shield the government of the day from blame. People think blaming NDC and NPP will solve this canker that is imbedded/entrenched deep in our society, which sadly predates both NDC and NPP. You virtually hit all the angles, identifying the causes of corruption and why we are almost powerless as a society to fight it.

Most Ghanaians in both the public and private sectors engage in corrupt practices, sadly even churches and religious institutions are not immune. We glorify money and respect people who acquire properties when it is obvious that their employment positions/status would NEVER support their lifestyles.

The problem is us Ghanaians and our twisted view of life. Those who shout most on the airwaves are the worst offenders.

To mean, for the current exercise by the BNI to be taken seriously, people need to face serious jail terms like those 2 officers who duped the NHIS and were reported recently to have been jailed after 5 good years of trial.

More deterrence is needed, and prosecute all those caught, and let them face serious jail time, if found guilty.
Mahmoud 11 years ago

The board is equally corrupt and must be dissolved and investigated. Those guilty among them should also be jailed for good lessons to be learned. All of them being corrupt, they think falsely that government money is an elep ...
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The board is equally corrupt and must be dissolved and investigated. Those guilty among them should also be jailed for good lessons to be learned. All of them being corrupt, they think falsely that government money is an elephant meat; it will never finish and nobody cares.

It is possible that there were some members of the board, if not all of them, who knew about the rot, receive their portions every month and colluded with the executive to carry on with the massive corruption. It is also possible that the auditors knew and colluded all along with NSS nation wreckers to be defrauding the nation. They must all be investigated and jailed if found guilty.

What is the use of having boards of directors and auditors that receive huge salaries and allowances from the government if such rots are commonplace in our system?
Steve Addai 11 years ago

You've hit the nail on its head, but is anyone listening? Like you said, everyone is doing it and most Ghanaians are by now even becoming immune to it. Some may even praise the boldness and audacity of the scheme and may tr ...
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You've hit the nail on its head, but is anyone listening? Like you said, everyone is doing it and most Ghanaians are by now even becoming immune to it. Some may even praise the boldness and audacity of the scheme and may try to emulate it. This is because most Ghanaians don't see corruption as a prison offence and if they do they don't care either. At worst most perpetrators of fraud get a slap on the wrist, reprimanded or transferred to another region or dismissed. No proper investigations into the fraudulent matters are either conducted or referral to the police for prosecution. Hence for most of these criminals fraud pays as the rewards far exceeds the consequences or penalty. It is high time that some of these crooks are arraigned before the courts and given stiff sentences to serve as a deterrent. It is only then that people will start to change their attitudes to fraud and corruption. Let the authorities not just pay lip service to tackling corruption but to be seen to be effectively dealing with the issue by prosecuting those corrupt individuals, locking these greedy people up and throwing the keys away.
TEE 11 years ago

GOD PLEASE HELP GHANA AND KILL NTANI FRAFRA PEPENI MUSI MAHAMA THIEF AND AMISSAH-ARTHUR PERIOD

GOD PLEASE HELP GHANA AND KILL NTANI FRAFRA PEPENI MUSI MAHAMA THIEF AND AMISSAH-ARTHUR PERIOD
TEE 11 years ago

MAHAMA THE INCOMPETENT FOOL

MAHAMA THE INCOMPETENT FOOL
Kwadwo 11 years ago

What has the thug Rawlings has to say about this? I feel for the families of all the people he sent to their graves with his faux revolution.

What has the thug Rawlings has to say about this? I feel for the families of all the people he sent to their graves with his faux revolution.
LONTO-BOY 11 years ago

MASSA KOFI, this is an incisive, intelligent and impressive article. Absolutely brilliant. I think fraud is now a national past time. Everyone seems to be at it in Ghana. The staggering fraud at NSS is shocking but it's just ...
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MASSA KOFI, this is an incisive, intelligent and impressive article. Absolutely brilliant. I think fraud is now a national past time. Everyone seems to be at it in Ghana. The staggering fraud at NSS is shocking but it's just the tip of the iceberg. If this is what is going on at NSS alone, can you imagine what is going on at GES and MoH? You see, payroll fraud is so widespread in Ghana that, it's about time the BNI investigated all Government ministries and institutions.

The existence of "ghost names" is not something our previous and current Governments aren't aware of. As in all cases of corruption and fraud in Ghana, the culprits know they could get away lightly. Technology is the key to reducing payroll fraud in Ghana. Payroll software could reduce "ghost names" in Ghana.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 11 years ago

Good morning LONTO-BOY. Yes, the introduction of payroll software may help but the real problem is the human factor. The software would be managed by Ghanaians who will manipulate it and find ways of inserting ghost names. It ...
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Good morning LONTO-BOY. Yes, the introduction of payroll software may help but the real problem is the human factor. The software would be managed by Ghanaians who will manipulate it and find ways of inserting ghost names. It means that IT should go with regular checks and reviews to ensure that it is not manipulated.

In fact, the historical background that Kwaku Baako provided on yesterday's Newsfile programme was disturbing. It appears nothing is done effectively to curtail this problem of ghost names on the public sector payroll.

Gye Nyame 11 years ago

Good article Ata -- the way you fix the human factor is to have background checks including periodic checks of bank accounts, assets etc., in other words you need to have clearances for government and public servants, you kno ...
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Good article Ata -- the way you fix the human factor is to have background checks including periodic checks of bank accounts, assets etc., in other words you need to have clearances for government and public servants, you know different clearances for different levels; depending on access to funds, classified info etc. Just as is done in the US -- it even requires disclosing names of relatives, friends and close associates. Investigators can use technology, social media/networks, Whatsapp, Facebook etc., to verify answers on clearance questionnaire. The problem is the president and folks in positions to check corruption are themselves tainted so they treat corruption that comes to the lime light with child's gloves. I would not be surprised if Mahama and his brother have some shady deals and skeletons in their closet that stops them from vigorously fighting corruption. Mahama does not even comment on corrupt figures like Woyome, Lauretta etc., it is as if he has not heard and that tells you that what he says about fighting corruption is far from what actually happens. The EC should insist that any flagbearer who gets on any national ballot has submitted such a questionnaire, declares assets and is cleared.
KOFI 11 years ago

BNI SHOULD ALSO IMMEDIATELY CLEAN UP MTTU OF POLICE SERVICE, THEIR COUNTERPART. THEY ARE EXTORTING MORE THAN THESE AMOUNTS FROM DRIVERS.

BNI SHOULD ALSO IMMEDIATELY CLEAN UP MTTU OF POLICE SERVICE, THEIR COUNTERPART. THEY ARE EXTORTING MORE THAN THESE AMOUNTS FROM DRIVERS.
Luther King 11 years ago

Kofi, u never cease to impress me with your objective and analytical write ups. It gives me joy that Ghana still has non partisan thinkers. Such corrupt actions are difficult to determine immediately.
Much as I think the Bo ...
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Kofi, u never cease to impress me with your objective and analytical write ups. It gives me joy that Ghana still has non partisan thinkers. Such corrupt actions are difficult to determine immediately.
Much as I think the Board shares some blame, it will be too early to ask them to resign. Board membership is part time. The board members have their regular jobs and rely on information given by the executive director. The board may meet about four times a year unless in emergency situations. The board was sworn in around December 2013.
Asking the board to resign will by extension mean that the Auditor General, Director of internal Audit Agency, and even the minister of education should resign.
The Auditor General has been auditing the scheme annually yet no mention was ever made of this scam. Am sure staff of the audit service would have gladly accepted the ghc 200,000 bribe and moved on without mentioning. Bravo to the BNI
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 11 years ago

Luther King, it is true that Board members are part-time and only attend meetings once or twice a month. However, more could have been done by the Board to check such rot. I do not know what happens in Ghana but when I serve ...
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Luther King, it is true that Board members are part-time and only attend meetings once or twice a month. However, more could have been done by the Board to check such rot. I do not know what happens in Ghana but when I served as Non-Executive Director on public public and NGO Boards here, I also served on a number of Committees including Finance and Human Resources, where the real work of the Board is done. At Committee meetings committee members questioned and probed senior officers and demanded answers to their decision making. We scrutinised reports and figures provided by senior officers. In addition to that, Board members were also assigned to specific areas of work of the organisation and visits are paid to departments or teams to find out more about their work, the difficulties and for members to have a better understanding of the operations of the organisation. For example, as a member of a County Probation Board, I was one of the Board members with responsibility for work areas on hostels for offenders. We paid visits to all hostels met some workers and residents and discussed their work. This was not because we did not trust the senior management but for us to know at first hand what were the issues facing the organisation. We also had the opportunity to hear from them what difficulties they faced in their work as well as from the beneficiaries of work being done by the organisation. That way, we were better placed to prioritise the allocation of resources and policy making decisions. I am not sure if this happens in Ghana.

This was because the Board was collectively accountable to the Home Secretary for the effective and efficient operations of the organisation. All the Board members were part-time (though some were retired but some of us worked full-time).
Marvin Opoku 11 years ago

Great article. In Ghana the board members do not question. The go by what the CEO tells them. They are just there some cant offer any good suggestions and they dare to challenge the CEOs . They are paid and given brown envelo ...
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Great article. In Ghana the board members do not question. The go by what the CEO tells them. They are just there some cant offer any good suggestions and they dare to challenge the CEOs . They are paid and given brown envelopes and other largess.They travel at the expense of the organisation for petty businesses. Some organisation conclude and cover fraud and other malpractices. The punitive measures are the very petty ones we see, such as lateness, insubordination etc....etc.you dare not report any corrupt activities of your superiors esle you are sidelined labelled as troublesome and a whole lot. You are encourage to resigned through all kinds of means. In frustration you join and accept those corrupt practices. These corrupt practice are very obvious but who do you complain too.The internal auditors are not doing the country good . They cover corrupt practices in the organisation they work just to save the name of the organisation.So it goes on and on. It's so sad .
KKO 11 years ago

Kofi,
You are right that if the board was doing its work diligently, such fraudulent deals could be quickly detected.

For instance, how many Ghanaians graduate from universities/tertiary institutions every year? What is ...
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Kofi,
You are right that if the board was doing its work diligently, such fraudulent deals could be quickly detected.

For instance, how many Ghanaians graduate from universities/tertiary institutions every year? What is the breakdown per district/region? What is the allowance paid to each service person per month/per quarter?

One does not even need a hand calculator to do these estimates just a few minutes before the start of a board meeting whether held monthly or quarterly. The truth is as Marvin has posted, most board members in Ghana are only there for the "brown envelopes" and freebies that go with their appointments. With the political coloration of their appointments, most board members in state institutions in Ghana will not ordinarily qualify for employment as clerks in those organisations!
Mr. Figure-Out 11 years ago

Much as I respect the view of Luther King I think Kofi is right to call for the heads of the 'lazy and Good for nothing' Board without hesitation.
The Board of corporate entities/ institutions are,in most cases, the supreme ...
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Much as I respect the view of Luther King I think Kofi is right to call for the heads of the 'lazy and Good for nothing' Board without hesitation.
The Board of corporate entities/ institutions are,in most cases, the supreme governing bodies of the corporations. The management and all decision makings fall under their immediate purview. Some of the responsibilities of fiducial duties of Boards are;
1. Maintaining professional standards corporate values and 2. most importantly, make sure adequate systems and controls are in place for identification and redress of grievances arising from unethical practices.
Failure to uphold some of these basic tenets and the oversight responsibilities on the part of Boards is the direct response of the rot and corrupt practices we are witnessing in our case. Heads must roll and I believe the Board must be the first to feel the blunt. We are too sluggish in taking bold decision and that alone is bringing us down as a nation. Example of such slackness is what Mahama is doing by criminally shielding incompetent Fiifi Ankrah and Adu Asare in his office at the expense of the taxpayer.
Benny 11 years ago

The next step is Institutions and then the police force and their pay roll and then the accountant general office and then climb down. Rawlings preached but couldn't do it. Look at the civil service they work and are paid but ...
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The next step is Institutions and then the police force and their pay roll and then the accountant general office and then climb down. Rawlings preached but couldn't do it. Look at the civil service they work and are paid but still robbing the state what about our mothers and fathers who are in the bush working on the farms and wearing smelling clothes. These people have to be jailed for no padding for it has been a long time c
KKO 11 years ago

Excellent piece, Kofi,
But governments of Ghana past and present cannot be absolved from these dastardly deeds. From the lukewarm attitude of the president and his appointees towards WOYOME, GYEEDA, SADA, Isofoton and the ea ...
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Excellent piece, Kofi,
But governments of Ghana past and present cannot be absolved from these dastardly deeds. From the lukewarm attitude of the president and his appointees towards WOYOME, GYEEDA, SADA, Isofoton and the earlier Brear purchase theft, I can bet my bottom penny that this NSS robbery is a part of a systematic party/government policy to fund the NDC and also enrich individuals in Ghana.

John Mahama is either amazingly incompetent or very criminally dishonest. Either way, Ghana is doomed forever if, touch wood, he should be be re-elected in 2016.
KOFI 11 years ago

IT HAS, JUST LIKE MOST GOV'T INSTITUTIONS ALWAYS BEEN A LOOTING ORGANIZATIONS. THE DIFFERENCE IS WE'RE NOW TAKING IT MORE SERIOUS. I HOPE WE DO AND NOT TAKE THE USUAL PARTISAN LINES. THAT MAKES GOV'T DEFENSIVE.

IT HAS, JUST LIKE MOST GOV'T INSTITUTIONS ALWAYS BEEN A LOOTING ORGANIZATIONS. THE DIFFERENCE IS WE'RE NOW TAKING IT MORE SERIOUS. I HOPE WE DO AND NOT TAKE THE USUAL PARTISAN LINES. THAT MAKES GOV'T DEFENSIVE.

Pastor Josiah 11 years ago

I share the same sentiment you expressed in your article, but my problem is that we may need extraterrestrial intervention to see some of your suggestions brought to bear.

I share the same sentiment you expressed in your article, but my problem is that we may need extraterrestrial intervention to see some of your suggestions brought to bear.
Gabby 11 years ago

bro kofi you are right. Your piece is very interesting as you said corruption is not about NDC n NPP bt the human factor. here in Ghana, the laws are not efforced, we only pride ourselves in being in positions without doing t ...
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bro kofi you are right. Your piece is very interesting as you said corruption is not about NDC n NPP bt the human factor. here in Ghana, the laws are not efforced, we only pride ourselves in being in positions without doing the work assign to us. The religious bodies are also a part to blame bcos most ghanaians are religious than people of any country. hmm God help us
Pastor Josiah 11 years ago

In Ghana corruption is revered, oiled and constantly nourished. In Ghana the corrupt is protected and shielded by the powers that be. God Save Our Homeland Ghana from greedy politicians and wicked Godless public officials.

In Ghana corruption is revered, oiled and constantly nourished. In Ghana the corrupt is protected and shielded by the powers that be. God Save Our Homeland Ghana from greedy politicians and wicked Godless public officials.
dassah 11 years ago

All the directors of the scheme in the regions and districts are involved in this fraudulent act and should be audited and jailed for life

All the directors of the scheme in the regions and districts are involved in this fraudulent act and should be audited and jailed for life
danson 11 years ago

All district directors and their coordinator should be investigated.they have amass wealth within three years buying tractors,pick-ups,tipper trucks,putting uup storey building,building private schools and masons where did th ...
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All district directors and their coordinator should be investigated.they have amass wealth within three years buying tractors,pick-ups,tipper trucks,putting uup storey building,building private schools and masons where did they get the money from ?
danson 11 years ago

All the district directors and the coordinators should be investigated especially those in upper west region on how they amass wealth by owning tractors,tipper trucks,pick-ups,putting up storey buildings,private schools,build ...
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All the district directors and the coordinators should be investigated especially those in upper west region on how they amass wealth by owning tractors,tipper trucks,pick-ups,putting up storey buildings,private schools,building materials stores etc the question is where did they get the money from ? All their assets be confiscatef
danson 11 years ago

All the district directors and the coordinators should be investigated especially those in upper west region on how they amass wealth by owning tractors,tipper trucks,pick-ups,putting up storey buildings,private schools,build ...
read full comment

All the district directors and the coordinators should be investigated especially those in upper west region on how they amass wealth by owning tractors,tipper trucks,pick-ups,putting up storey buildings,private schools,building materials stores etc the question is where did they get the money from ? All their assets be confiscatef

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Is National Service Scheme now National Stealing Scheme?

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