[ 2014-10-31 ]

Rot at National Service - Director grabs five (5) mansions
The rot at the National Service Secretariat (NSS)
appears to be more deep-seated than anticipated,
as information reaching 'Daily Guide' indicates
that a former Executive Director of the
organization acquired not less than five houses in
four years before he was removed.

The director, who was removed after a series of
complaints by the Board of the NSS, was later
given a juicy appointment as a presidential
staffer.

Shortly after his removal from office, some
concerned members of staff of the NSS wrote to
President John Mahama to institute a probe into
the activities of the NSS boss and purge the
scheme of the “institutionalized thievery and
naked robbery of stated funds by him and his
cohorts”, but the said report never got to the
presidency.

The report said the former NSS boss lived far
above his means, acquiring flashy, expensive and
luxurious cars – Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Saloon
Cars, among others – as well as mansions in
Abokobi, Oyarifa, Trade Fair Site, ACP Estates at
Pokuase, Sakumono and other places in Accra.

It said in some cases, he used names of his
friends as owners of those cars and buildings to
cover his tracks.

The report cited, for example, that the former
director claimed that a soldier friend had asked
him to build the mansion near the Trade Fair Site
in Accra for him.

It said in building all those houses, he used the
Borehole Unit staff and equipment to drill
boreholes for water without paying for the
services.

The report said in addition to the already
mentioned fraud, the former executive director
paid a whopping GH25,000 cash to his wife, bought
a flat for her at Adenta and a car to compensate
her after he was caught in marital crisis.

The NSS is currently embroiled in financial
scandal of gargantuan dimension as the immediate
executive director, Alhaji Alhassan Imoro, is
facing charges of stealing to the tune of about
GH86.9 million belonging to the Government of
Ghana.

The alleged systematic stealing had been
institutionalized with the immediate past
management allegedly continuing where others had
left off.

Financial Malpractices

According to the documentary report, copies of
which have been made available to 'Daily Guide',
during the reign of the former executive director
in question, names of non-existent service
personnel were allegedly generated and inserted in
the payment vouchers of some regions, notably
Greater Accra, Western, Central, Volta and Brong
Ahafo.

Allowances paid to such “ghost” personnel were
withdrawn by the Regional Directors and paid to
the big man in Accra. The report said the massive
fraud and stealing of state funds were perpetrated
through his errand boy, a certain Gyamfi.

The errand boy used to go round collecting the
monies from the Regional Directors on a monthly
basis for his master.

It said in 2012, the lid on the huge fraud was
blown off and instead of dealing with the problem;
the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government
let the director off the hook because of strong
political backing.

A committee was set up, with a report leading to
the transfer of some directors and interdiction of
others; but no action was taken in the case of the
executive director.

Some of the implicated officials were merely made
to refund the money.

The Board of Directors of the NSS called for
action to be taken against the perpetrators, but
these recommendations were never implemented.

The report said in another orchestrated incident,
the former executive director, now walking free,
in concert with an officer of the Voluntary
Service, raised memos for programmes that never
took place, withdrew monies from the Income
Generation Account and returned the payment
vouchers with forged receipts, authenticated with
fake rubber stamps of some respectable hotels and
guest houses in Bolgatanga, Wa, Jirapa, as well as
in Walewale.

According to the report, the monies were funds
provided by the Voluntary Service Origination VSO)
to support activities of the National Voluntary
Programme. Samples of the rubber stamps are in
possession of Daily Guide.

Entrepreneurial Training

As if that was not enough, the former NSS boss
caused deductions to be made from allowances of
National Service personnel for entrepreneurial
training, which never took place, but the GH60,000
that was deducted was never accounted for.

Fishy Procurement

The report said in gross disregard of the
Procurement Act, the NSS boss always resorted to
sole-sourcing whenever he wanted to purchase some
items.

He did so without consulting the board or seeking
its approval, creating confusion among them, with
reports indicating for example that the purchased
Yutong buses, some agricultural equipment and some
tractors, among other items, with the board’s
approval.

The report said he collected the tractors before
applying for the sole sourcing facility.

The report also mentioned that during the tenure
of the former NSS boss, the farms that were
established by the scheme were badly managed,
adding that they were fraught with corruption and
inefficiency such that by the time the man was
leaving office, the scheme was indebted to the
tune of about GH79,000 from unpaid purchases of
maize seed and chemicals.

Source - Daily Guide

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