Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem, Monday, the Director of Corporate Affairs, Armstrong Essah, said the critics are not well-informed and are scheming and twisting the facts.

“The Bible say lack of knowledge my people perish because we must establish the facts. It is unfortunate people who have not sought much information about the system can speak authoritatively as if they have interrogated it. Meanwhile, some of the people have not even done their national service,” he stated.

Mr Essah reiterated that, the GH¢40 charge was a well-established practice that supported the essential ICT infrastructure and services necessary for the efficient operation of NSS.

Given the rise in internet services among other things, Mr Essah stated it wouldn’t be far-fetched if the NSS management increases the GH¢40 fee.

However, they have explored creative and innovative models to generate revenue and subsidise the fee for personnel all these years.

“NSS has a robust ICT and hustle free infrastructure. We shouldn’t forget that digitisation comes at a cost so all people seeking to twist the stories to create the impression that NSS is ripping off or extorting money from prospective personnel is unfortunate and too simplistic,” he added.

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cost of internt has gone up

from 2006 till now, NSS has not increased the charge

The management has emphasised that the GH¢40 charge is not a recent development as it took effect as far back as 2006.

In a statement, the Secretariat explained that, the fee was initially paid through deductions at source from the first month’s allowances.

However, the mode was changed in 2015 to allow service personnel to pay before enrolment.

Giving a breakdown of what the fee is used for, NSS explained GH¢20 is for electronic ID cards and National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) dues respectively.

The remaining GH¢20.00 is also for online (Internet) services to the service providers.

“This covers the cost of NSS certificates awarded upon service completion; facilitates the monthly upload of assessment forms; and supports the ongoing maintenance and upgrades to the NSS online registration system.

“It also covers hosting of the NSS ICT infrastructure and the management of the central ICT system for optimal performance,” portions of the statement read.

Below is the full statement:

This seeks to boost the scheme’s repositioning in agriculture and contribute its quota towards addressing the food security needs in Ghana.

Famed for its size and known as the King of ‘Chickens,’ it’s a docile, calm breed that is both a meat and an egg-laying bird.

The Brahma bird can take six to seven months before they start laying but when it does, it produces 3 to 4 eggs weekly.

The Papao Demonstration Farm is an 11-acre land near the University of Ghana.

It is fully integrated farm with crop, plantain and mango plantation, fish and livestock production and serves as a practical training setup for graduates from various agricultural institutes.

The farm has ponds for fish production, a poultry section that produces 3,000 broilers and 3,000 layers producing about 45 crates of eggs daily.

It also a piggery that has 251 pigs, 182 rabbits, three acres of mango and coconut plantation, as well as a snail production section.

It also has a livestock feed mill to produce poultry and animal feed and a manufacturing unit for skills training.

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Mr Bagbin said the national service period was a very critical year for the development of the personnel as such, it must not be wasted on the running of errands, which would not add to their development.

“I plead with my brothers and sisters, who are leaders in the various public institutions, private sector organisations not to turn the service personnel into messengers – errand boys and girls…It is a very critical year for their development, do not waste it.”

He was speaking at the launch of the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the National Service Secheme (NSS) in Accra on Tuesday.

The anniversary is on the theme: “National Service at 50: Repositioning the Scheme for a Sustainable National Development”.

Mr Bagbin said the service period was for the personnel to be molded for the world of work and that it was unfortunate that some workers treated them badly, many not having places to sit in offices.

He said the challenges facing the country required sustainable solutions and that NSS could be an avenue for developing the next generation of leaders, problem solvers and change makers.

Mr Bagbin said there was the need to build the youth and transform them into citizens, who were willing to serve the country and put it first, which called for investment in the operations of the NSS.  

The Executive Director of NSS, Osei Assibey Antwi, said the Scheme was able to deploy more personnel to support the health sector, the education sector and civil service.

He said this year, about 65,000 personnel were sent to classrooms. In the agricultural sector, Mr Assibey Antwi said with the support of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Scheme had been able to acquire 20,000 acres of land for projects.

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He said a draft policy was being prepared to that effect and subsequently work to enact a law to back the proposed new status of the scheme.

This is to expand its scope of operations and structure.

President Akufo-Addo at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary celebration of the NSS in Accra, emphasised that the NSS was poised for transformation in response to emerging global trends.

The policy and the law, when they come into effect, will also give backing to a model called deployment for employment aimed at encouraging young graduates to contribute positively to the nation’s long-term development agenda.

The anniversary is being marked on the theme “NSS at 50: Repositioning the Scheme for Sustainable National Development”.

Activities lined up include lectures, funding summits, blood donations, clean-up exercise, tree-planting, corporate social responsibility project, launch of the Golden Jubilee Magazine, among others.

President Nana Akufo-Addo underscored the need to fine-tune the scope of operations of the NSS for the benefit of the nation.

The Scheme should be able to address the employment needs of fresh graduates by enhancing their training and skills development.

President Akufo-Addo said the concept underpinning national service ought to be taken seriously.

This is because the programme helps in Ghana’s growth by inculcating a sense of patriotism, nationalism, volunteerism and discipline in the youth.

He lauded the NSS Executive Director, Osei Assibey Antwi for his visionary leadership and innovativeness.

Since 2017, some 800, 000 Service persons have been deployed to all sectors of the economy to support the mainstream workforce in executing its mandate.

The President urged the leadership of the Scheme to give serious consideration to areas such as health, agriculture, Information, Communication and Technology, as well as other technical areas relevant to the nation’s development.

He commended the NSS for the feat chalked over the years, assuring that the government would give the Scheme the needed backing for its sustainable growth.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin advised that the NSS should strive to align its activities with the nation’s development agenda.

The NSS Executive Director, Osei Assibey Antwi, hinted that the scheme was cultivating some 20, 000 acres of land at the Sekyere-Kumawu economic enclave for agricultural purposes.

The project and other initiatives, especially in the tourism industry, built environment, among others, were yielding positive results, he noted.

Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi asked the service personnel to work hard for the growth of the scheme.

“We are ready to support national development,” he assured.

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In a statement, the association urged personnel to get their E-zwich cards and visit their various banks or agents for their monies.

NASPA appreciated personnel for exercising restraint all these while amidst assurances that it will facilitate payments for February, March and April.

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‘We appreciate your patience, and we hope to get the payment for the subsequent month done soon,” the statement assured.

Below is NASPA’s statement

Date: 31ST MARCH 2023
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PAYMENT OF JANUARY ALLOWANCE
The Executive Board affectionately extends greetings and wishes to inform you that the allowance for JANUARY has been paid. We appreciate your patience and we hope to get the payment for the subsequent month done soon.

Kindly get your e-zwich card and visit your banks or agents.
NB: Your dashboard can show processing while you have been paid. You ought to visit the bank to confirm payment.