Investigations into the alleged GH¢38.4 million National Service Authority (NSA) scandal have established that 63,673 names submitted for payment of allowances during the 2023 and 2024 service years were fictitious.
This was disclosed yesterday by the fourth prosecution witness, Detective Sergeant Collins Woode, when he testified before the High Court in Accra.
He told the court that forensic analysis of the Authority’s Central Management System revealed that the 63,673 names had received allowances despite rendering no service.
Further investigations, he said, confirmed that the identities used to facilitate the alleged fraudulent payments were fictitious.
His witness statement and accompanying exhibits were admitted in evidence by the court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.
Sergeant Woode was led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa.
Counsel for the accused, Mr Gary Nimako Marfo, is expected to cross-examine him on Thursday, November 12.
On May 19, the Supreme Court dismissed an application by Oware-Mensah seeking to halt the trial over an alleged breach of a court practice direction.
Her lawyer had asked the apex court to suspend proceedings pending the determination of a constitutional challenge to a directive requiring accused persons to disclose details of their intended defence witnesses during case management.
However, a five-member panel, presided over by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, held that the constitutional challenge did not automatically warrant a stay of proceedings.
The panel ruled that the application had failed to meet the legal threshold for suspending the trial, allowing the accused to pursue her constitutional challenge separately.
Oware-Mensah is facing five counts, including wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit and money laundering.
The prosecution alleges that she used Blocks of Life Consult Limited, a private company, to secure a loan from the Agricultural Development Bank using allowances linked to fictitious names on the National Service payroll as collateral.
The arrangement allegedly enabled her to obtain GH¢38,458,248.87 through source deductions over 11 months.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is on bail.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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