Auditor-General’s Report
The Auditor General has released the full report on the forensic audit it conducted into the National Service Authority from 2018 to 2024.
Here are some highlights:
– The total financial “irregularities” over the period were 2.5 billion cedis. Over 1 billion was in payments exceeding 13 months. Another 989 million cedis was paid to personnel without the required biometric or monthly attendance verification.
-There was also 302 million cedis paid to vendors without contracts, invoices, or evidence of work done.
– The audit found the software used by the NSA to be fit for purpose despite some control weaknesses. The NSA deliberately bypassed controls built into the application.
-This is important because the NSA recently replaced the technology despite the auditors deeming it fit for purpose. That was a major contention between the recently sacked NSA boss and the sector minister.
– Even though the former Deputy Executive Director was working at the NSA, she was also enrolled as a service person at one point and received her regular 559 cedis per month for 12 months. She’s the same one facing charges for allegedly stealing millions of cedis.
– There were excessive manual overrides. The software was supposed to automate many processes, yet a lot of them were done manually. For instance, 78% of postings that were supposed to be automated between 2018 and 2024 bypassed the process. Over 65% of enrolments were manually done. Simply changing the technology won’t address these issues.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
