The Management of the National Service Scheme (NSS) has interdicted 130 staff of the scheme for their alleged involvement in financial malfeasance between the 2013-2014 service year.
It brings to 163 the number of staff members of the scheme, including national and regional officers, indicted for the same offence.
A statement signed by the acting Executive Director of the scheme, Dr Michael Kpessa-Whyte, said the current batch of interdicted staff were mostly district directors of the scheme from various regions across the country.
It said each of the affected staff members would go through disciplinary processes pertaining to all public servants.
It also noted that the scheme's administrative and disciplinary measures were without prejudice to any legal actions by the state in the fight against corruption and abuse of public office.
Thirty-five officials of the NSS, including its former Executive Director, Alhassan Imoro, who were implicated in a massive fraud at the secretariat, were charged last month for conniving to deprive the state of more than GHtf107 million.
They are alleged to have, between September 2013 and August 2014, acted together to loot the state through the payment of allowances to 31,516 non-existent national service personnel.
We want to repay the money
Meanwhile, the case involving the interdicted NSS officials took a dramatic turn last Friday when 25 out of the 35 accused persons pleaded with the court to allow them to refund their alleged misappropriated money.
The move started with Mr Egbert Fabille Jnr who told the court that his clients—Ali Ahmd Awumbilla, Ebenezer Edzi and Seth Q. Quartey— were willing to refund the money.
That opened the floodgate when the presiding judge, Mrs Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsah, approved the move, saying: "For those in position to pay, the door is open now. We won't come back to this when we have crossed the bridge."
The new twist means the state could recover close to GHc27 million out of the GHc107 million the accused persons were alleged to have stolen or misappropriated.
What Section 35 of Courts Act says
As if on cue, counsel for the 22 other accused persons got on their feet to make Section 35 allows accused persons charged with an offence before the High Court or a Regional Tribunal, the commission of which has caused economic loss, harm or damage to the State or any State agency, to inform the prosecutor whether he or she admits the offence and is willing to offer compensation or make restitution and reparation for the loss, harm or damage caused.
Interestingly, at the last sitting on May 27, 2015, 31 out of the 35 accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and were granted bail in various sums.
Four accused persons—Seth Nana Obugyei Asiedu, the former Greater Accra Regional Director of the NSS; Helena Bokoro, a secretary at the Northern Regional Secretariat; Solomon Kurug, Upper East Regional Accountant and Mutaro Usif, Secretary at the Tamale Metro Office — who were not in court during the last sitting, appeared in court and were granted bail in various sums and with sureties.
Earlier, Justice Mensah-Datsah warned that she would not tolerate absenteeism or lateness to the court.
"I will not tolerate all those excuses that they are on their way. If this was for visa, they would not be telling the embassy that they are on their way. If they are not here, it creates a whole lot of problems," Chief State Attorney, Ms Penelope Marmattah, to allow for time for the prosecution to meet the accused persons.
Among the accused persons willing to repay the money are Michael Kombor, Nelson Ayeltiga, Sammy Ofori, Seth Nana Obugyei Asiedu, Gabriel Nyorke, Ali Ahmed Awumbila, Michael
Totime, Ebenezer Edzi, Shaibu Termi Abiru, George Dassah Naa Winyelle and Dominic Dele.
The rest are John Kwame Ayew, Mohammed Abukari, Francis Himbuah, Aliyu Hussein, Alexander Agumey ,Cletu Kaba, Raphael Adu Agyapong, Theophilus Kwoffie, Dominic Popola Maabesog, Festus Obeng-Sefa, Emmanuel Asante and Helena Mensah.
The stolen funds
Aside from the charge of conspiracy, Alhaji Imoro faces four additional counts of stealing GHC28.7 million and giving bribes totalling GHtf100,000 to one of the investigators in the case to thwart investigations.
Kombor faces one count of stealing GHtf540,000; Dankwah has been charged with one count of stealing GHtf350,000, while Alhassan faces one count of stealing GHtf559,000.
The following are the amounts allegedly stolen by some of the accused persons: Gloria, GHtf383,000; Ayeltiga, GHtf44,000; Ofori, GHtf210,500; Totimeh, GH771,919.08; Asiedu, GHtf18.3 million; Nyorke, GHtf922,788.27; Awumbila, GHtf315,183.54; Edzi, GHC2.2 million; Agyepong, GH(t3.2 million; Abiru, GHtf612,794.
The rest are: Naawinyelle, GHtf335,716.26; Dele, GHtf189,152.40; Larbi-Siaw, GHtf577,000; Ayew, GHtf44,900; Himbuah, GHtf210,000; Senti, GHtf99,000; Kurug, GHtf184,602.67; Hussein, GHtf210,000; Agumeh, GHtf283,825.16; Quartey, GHtf4.4 million; Kaba, GHtf189,152; Adu- Agyepong, GH(t52,000; Kwoffie, Maabesog, GHtf173,852; Bati, GHtf210,000; Obeng-Sefa, GHct63,575; Asante, GHtf200,000; Bokoro, GHtf51,739; Usif, GHtf18,869; Helena, GHtf52,000, and Freda, GHtf29,800.
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Source: Graphic
