Cancel the National Service Scheme! — Kofi Bentil Calls for Bold Reform Amid NSA Scandal
IMANI Vice President Kofi Bentil renews call to cancel Ghana’s national service program after GH¢548 million payroll fraud is exposed at the National Service Authority.
Edem Latsu Nukafu eljourno 
ACCRA, GHANA – In the wake of the GH¢548 million payroll fraud scandal rocking Ghana’s National Service Authority (NSA), Kofi Bentil, Vice President of think tank IMANI Africa, is doubling down on his call to either scrap or radically reform the national service program.
Taking to social media, Bentil wrote:
“I have said many times before and repeat: CANCEL THE NATIONAL SERVICE SCHEME or make it a simple placement centre!! Government should not pay anyone — the employer should pay the personnel.”
A Call for Structural Change, Not Patchwork Fixes
Bentil’s comments come as Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine revealed widespread financial mismanagement at the NSA, with irregularities and ghost names costing the state hundreds of millions of cedis.
Bentil argues the issue is deeply structural. He believes audits, prosecutions, or administrative tweaks are not enough to solve the core problems embedded in the current national service framework.
“Let Employers Pay”: A Radical Proposal
Rather than continuing the state-funded allowance model, Bentil proposes transforming the scheme into a placement and recruitment platform. In this new model:
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Employers, not the government, would pay the service personnel.
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This would remove layers of bureaucracy, reduce corruption risk, and align performance incentives between employer and employee.
NSA Under Fire: 12 Officials Implicated
The Attorney General’s report has implicated at least 12 former officials of the NSA, including:
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Mustapha Ussif (former Executive Director)
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Osei Assibey Antwi (current Executive Director)
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Gifty Oware-Mensah (former Deputy Director)
The scandal has shaken public trust and intensified scrutiny from civil society groups and political observers.
Reform or Eliminate?
The debate around the future of Ghana’s national service program is now reaching a tipping point:
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Some stakeholders are calling for tighter monitoring, digital payroll verification, and institutional reform.
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Others, like Bentil, argue for complete decentralization or termination of the program.
With the scandal still unfolding and public confidence eroding, the government may soon face a defining decision: reform, repurpose, or retire the national service scheme altogether.
