The Auditor-General has recommended sweeping reforms at the National Service Authority (NSA) following a technical and forensic audit of its Central Service Management Portal (CSMP) and Metric App, covering the period from January 2018 to December 2024.
The audit, commissioned by the Office of the President, exposed significant weaknesses in the Authority’s internal controls, enrollment processes, and payroll management systems. In response, the Auditor-General has outlined five key reforms aimed at improving governance, accountability, and operational efficiency.
Among the recommendations is an immediate end to all private and manual enrollments, with all postings and validations to be conducted exclusively through approved CSMP channels. The report further calls for strict enforcement of a “No Biometric Verification, No Posting” policy, requiring service personnel to present valid Ghana Cards and complete biometric validation before being deployed.
The Auditor-General also advised the Authority to discontinue all out-of-system processes, including manual overrides, and to strengthen system-based controls. This includes restricting overrides to exceptional cases, maintaining comprehensive audit trails, and implementing automated alerts to flag suspicious postings.
In addition, the report recommends transferring the management of NSA’s payroll to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, a move intended to enhance financial oversight and reduce the risk of irregular payments.
The reforms follow an earlier audit report that uncovered GH¢2.45 billion in financial and administrative irregularities at the NSA. The irregularities ranged from payments without biometric validation to unsupported vendor transactions and duplicated service numbers, highlighting serious lapses in compliance and data integrity.
The Auditor-General’s report has been submitted to the Office of the President and Parliament, with calls for urgent implementation of the reforms to strengthen governance at the Authority and prevent future financial and administrative abuses.
