Interdicted NSA staff pockets GH₡43,157 while on suspension

Mr. Joshua Mensah, former Ashanti Regional Sports Director, who was interdicted by the National Sports Authority (NSA) in June 2018 is said to be receiving full salary, according to the Auditor-General’s report.

It would be recalled that four staff of the NSA including the then Director-General, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah were captured in Anas’s investigative piece named ‘Number 12’ for allegedly accepting monetary gifts.

These four officers were interdicted by the NSA in 2018.

However, according to the 2020 Auditor-General’s report, the prolonged interdiction of Mr. Joshua Mensah without any closure on his case has resulted in an avoidable loss of GH¢35,173.00 to the state.

According to the report, “Section 8 of Labour Regulations, 2007 stipulates that where an employer interdicts an employee, the employer shall pay not less than fifty percent of the employee’s salary for six months, during investigations, disciplinary or criminal proceedings for an offence for which an employee has been charged, and pay the employee the salaries withheld during the interdiction if the employee is exonerated from the offence for which the employee has been charged”.

The report further stated that “contrary to the above provision, we noted that Mr. Joshua Mensah, Regional Sports Director had been on interdiction since June 2018 and no decision had been taken on his case.

“As at December 2020, he had been paid a total of GH¢43,157.00 whilst on interdiction. If the case had been dealt with within the stipulated six months and found guilty of the offence, he would have been paid half salary totaling GH¢7,984.00, and the State would have made a savings of GH¢35,173.00.”

The Auditor-General therefore recommended the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) and the National Sports Authority to as a matter of urgency bring finality to the matter and either save the officer from further hardships if he is innocent or save funds for the state if he is guilty.