Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Ussif further clarified that the training programme engaged 17 individuals from “all youth agencies” as well as persons from academia and corporate Ghana.

The programme involves a series of workshop sessions geared towards exploring solutions towards reducing youth unemployment.

In Parliament on Thursday, Ras Mubarak raised issues with the amount spent on the programme which translates to about GHc 1.3 million.

Speaking on Eyewitness News later on, he said, “as far as I am concerned, it is completely an outrage to have spent over GHc 1.6 million for 13 officials to travel to the USA for a training programme at a time where the National service Secretariat cant even meet its obligations as far as paying the allowance of service personnel are concerned.”

The MP also said there was some policy incoherence because Ghana has “other agencies of government whose business it is to build the capacity of youth and provide them with training.”

Workshops are to tackle unemployment

Mr. Ussif, however, defended the move to resort to MIT saying the government was responding to Ghana’s unemployment problem and it believed the series of workshop’s at MIT presented a solution.

“All this was put together for us to have a two-year intensive workshop to come out with a module that will be feasible for sponsorship from any donor funding… all these efforts are to reduce the youth unemployment in this country,” he explained.

Mr. Ussif maintained further that MIT has “the potential of helping us with the research and analysis to be able to come out with a feasible module.”

He added that these five-day workshops, which sees the 17 persons fly to the US sporadically, are to continue until 2019.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NSS boss justifies $300,000 expenditure for MIT programme appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The payment of service allowances for September and October, is noted to have delayed, and the National Service Secretariat (NSS), in a statement, explained that this was to ensure a “process of authentication and validation of all national service personnel across the country.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”3hfzR7Ui0FFFTvrJNeuaeCRyooQEPYzJ”]“The exercise was necessary as it has exposed a number of irregularities,” the statement said.

As examples of the suspected fraud, the Secretariat noted that, 22 persons are being investigated in the Ashanti Region, nine of which are facing charges.

57 persons have also been arrested in Tamale, and are being investigated by Police.

The NSS is no stranger to instances of fraud, as its former Executive Director, Alhaji Alhasan Imoro, and over 20 others, were interdicted when GHc 7.9 million was found to have been paid to 22,612 ghost service persons, in more than 100 districts in July 2014.

A Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) report, suggests that between September 2013 to August 2014, Alhaji Imoro, oversaw the bloating of the NSS payroll with as many as 31,516 ghost names for National Service postings, and the National Voluntary Service recruitment.

The adoption of the e-zwich biometric platform was one of the measures instituted to prevent such widespread corruption and fraud.

The NSS has also urged service personnel who have not biometrically registered to do so, because they were not captured for payment of the September 2017 allowances.

“All such national service personnel are therefore advised to visit the designated centres in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale without any further delay to complete their biometric registration for their names to be validated for payment of allowances due them.”

October allowances

Auditing of payment vouchers for October 2017 allowances has been concluded, the statement also indicated

“Payment would be done immediately the biometric validation is also concluded”. Management of the Scheme has meanwhile appealed to the general public to assist them by providing information to the security agencies on people who are impersonating for national service.”

Find below the full statement

NSS PAYS SERVICE PERSONNEL ALLOWANCES FOR SEPTEMBER, 2017

The National Service Secretariat has paid allowances for 58,000 national service personnel in the public sector for the month of September, 2017 into their individual e-zwich accounts. About 8,000 others have their allowances on hold and are under investigation for suspicion of impersonation and disqualification from doing national service.

Service personnel are therefore required to go to designated e-zwich service points to load their cards to access their allowances. Payment of the allowances was delayed as a result of the process of authentication and validation of all national service personnel across the country. The exercise was necessary as it has exposed a number of irregularities. In the Ashanti region for instance, 22 people were arrested and put under investigation, nine (9) of whom are currently facing court charges.

In Tamale, 57 people have been arrested and are currently under police investigation. National service personnel are to note that, in line with an earlier statement issued by the Acting Executive Director, all national service personnel who have not biometrically registered were not captured for payment of the September, 2017 allowances. All such national service personnel are therefore advised to visit the designated centres in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale without any further delay to complete their biometric registration for their names to be validated for payment of allowances due them.

Management wishes to assure all national service personnel that auditing of payment vouchers for October, 2017 personnel allowances have been concluded, and that, payment would be done immediately the biometric validation is also concluded. Management wishes to appeal to the general public to assist the Scheme by providing information to the security agencies on people who are impersonating for national service.

Signed

HON. MUSTAPHA USSIF

ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE MEDIA

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com

The post NSS withholds allowance for 8,000 personnel over suspected fraud appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A statement from the secretariat on Thursday said the postponement was to afford the stakeholders ample time to prepare for the process.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rnYwmuwTAGSykd06n7pcph22JRmthFuL”]“All prospective national service personnel and the general public are to note that the new period of registration would be from Monday, 24th July, 2017 to Thursday, 24th August, 2017 at all the NSS registration centres across the country,” the statement said.

“The requirements for the registration, however, remain the same. These include provision of students’ Identity card, in addition to any one of the national Identity cards – i.e. valid Voter I.D., passport or drivers’ license. All must note that National Health Insurance cards would NOT be accepted,” it added.

The National Service Secretariate announced the deployment of 91,871 personnel to serve their 1-year mandatory service last week.

According to the acting Executive Director of the scheme, about 76,908 (85%) of the service personnel deployed would service in the public sector while the remaining 14,963  (15%) have been posted to the private sector.

He said about 2,170 of the personnel had been deployed to serve in various agric-related positions as part of President’s Akufo-Addo’s ‘Planting for food and jobs’ program.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post National service postpones 2017/2018 registration appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Service personnel will from January 2017 be paid a monthly allowance of GH¢559 from the GH¢350 they currently receive.

A letter sighted by citifmonline.com from the Ministry of Finance indicated the ministry gave the approval last week.

About 70,407 service personnel are currently serving in various institutions in the public and private sectors.

The acting Executive Director of the National Service Secretariate (NSS), Dr Michael Kpessah Whyte said the increment followed series of complaint from service personnel who said the current allowance was woefully inadequate considering their expenses and cost of living.

‘NSS not withholding January allowance’

The National Service Secretariat last month denied withholding allowances of personnel for December 2016 and January 2017.

The secretariat, reacting to rumours in sections of the media that it will withhold allowances for December and January, said it will duly pay all personnel on time without delay.

In a statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, Ambrose Entsiwah Jnr., the secretariat said the government has already released funds for the payment of all personnel till the end of December 2016, and has also approved its budget for the year 2017.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Gov’t increases NSS allowance by 60% appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows the decision by the Greater Accra Chapter of the Association to close Senior High schools due to unpaid subsidies.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) promised to pay the first tranche of the subsidies last week, but the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of CHASS Africanus Anane told Citi News that no payment had been made yet.

“As at Friday, there was nothing in our account… we have not seen anything yet,” Mr. Annane said

In that regard, he stated the Association has resolved to meet on Thursday to discuss issues pertaining to their subsides.

“We have a national executive meeting at Accra Academy on Thusrday. All the regional chairpersons are coming over with other National Executive members and we are going to take a decision.

“….After the National Executives Meeting we will know the way to go,”he stated.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post CHASS undecided about closure of schools on Thursday appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.