HO National Service Personnel at the year's Orientation Program (Photo Credit: NSS Corporate Affairs)

By: Akpabli Daniel Yao /Ho/VR


Some national service personnel posted to the Volta Region have called on authorities to speed up processes leading to the payment of their monthly allowance for September.

The personnel whose expectations were to hear from authorities during the Volta Regional Orientation of Service Personnel about their first month in service payment hopes were dashed out as authorities stated that nothing of that sort will come their way early October.

The Volta Regional Director of the National Service Scheme, Mr. Ambrose Entsiwah, who took his time to engage personnel on the issue observed that, the delay in payment of allowances is not from the government but blame it on activities for ensuring proper regularization of service Personnel.

According to Mr. Entsiwah, the issue of re-posting by service personnel as well as rejection by some user agencies poses great challenge to the system making the secretariat to take their time to ensure that things are done properly and not to mess things up in terms of payment.

He said, this has made it necessary for an activity of headcount to be conducted to monitor and check that personnel posted and re-posted to their respective user Agencies are really at post for funds to be disbursed appropriately.

“This is not a new thing. We told you at the pre-orientation programs organized in the various tertiary institutions about the first month’s hitches so by now, you are all aware of the happening. You should have made preparations toward it unless you did not attend those orientations” he claimed.

He assured the personnel that as soon as the headcount is over, payment will be effected and from then, the system will have been normalized for prompt payment in the subsequent months.

He also hinted that, December allowances will be paid before personnel go for the Christmas holiday.

He further called on all service personnel to put up good characters to brighten every corner of their call of duty to enable them (Personnel) benefit largely from their respective institutions for their personal development.

He noted that, personnel under the National service scheme do not only benefit from the allowances they get on monthly bases but also help develop and shape their skills after service.

The personnel who are mostly not native of the municipality posted but have to travel and also take care of their rents as well as other basic things explained that, their parents and guardians are aware of the little allowance and therefore care less about their responsibilities as soon as they started service.

Personnel are therefore calling on the Secretariat to hasten processes for payment in order to help them cater for some basic necessities as they put in their best to serve mother Ghana.

Background

The National Service Scheme (NSS) is a Government of Ghana program under the Ministry of Education of Ghana with a National Secretariat in Accra, and offices in all administrative regions and districts across the country.

The National Service programme is a compulsory one-year service required of all citizens of Ghana who are 18 years and above, at the time of deployment. The Scheme which started in 1973 now operates under Act 426 (of 1980) after the National Service Scheme Decree, 1973 (NRCD. 208) is repealed

Personnel who registered to undertake the program for the 2019/2020 service year across the nation, were directed to report at post on September 1 but are yet to receive their one month (September) allowance as at today October 14 .