BNI interim report exposes more rot than the Ghc7.9m - Ablakwa

Ghanaians should brace themselves for more surprises as far as rot at the National Service Secretariat (NSS) is concerned.

According to information disclosed during PEACE FM's "kokrokoo" programme, the Ghc 7.9 million embezzled at the secretariat is nothing compared to what has been revealed in the interim report from the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI).

An amount of Ghc7.9 million has been lost by the state in the month of July 2014 alone as a result of the payments made to 22,612 non-existent service personnel.

So far, the Executive Director of the NSS, Alhaji Alhassan Imoro and 23 others have been ordered to step aside while the BNI conduct thorough investigations into the issue.

Speaking in an interview on ‘Kokrokoo’ with Kwami Sefa Kayi, Deputy Minister in charge of tertiary education, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa said “if you read the interim report from the BNI, the evidence is overwhelming; vouchers with same signatories...personnel who changes their signature every month, it is very damning and nobody should attempt to justify this practice which clearly have been going on for some time”.

The interim report, he said, brings out more figures and more people from other regions that have been picked up.

According to him, “the 7.9 million cedis was on a monthly basis and that if you do an average, it will lead to about Ghc94m a year”.

“Per the interim report, you can tell that by the end of the investigations, we are bound to see more debt. The rot is deeper than what everybody thought...It is quite deeper than that...if you do an average in a year, they are pointing to about GHC94 million a year. The investigations are still ongoing and so it will be interesting to see what the final figures will look like and how deep this whole rot is…” he disclosed.

Per the Deputy Minister’s remarks, some bank managers were helping some of the NSS directors to loot the state and assured that they will also be brought to book.

Even though he claims some of the people implicated are trying to get off the hook, he added that “the BNI is committed to ensuring that all those people are picked up and brought to justice.