Some National Service Personnel have stormed the Head Office of the scheme today (Tuesday, January 8, 2018) demanding their unpaid allowances.
The aggrieved service personnel have come from various parts of the country to demand what is due them.
They argue that they have not received their allowances for the past 4 months. Most of them said even though they have been coming to the head office for some time now their grievances have not been addressed.
One of the personnel told Accra-based Citi FM that “I’m coming from Hohoe in the Volta Region and this is my second time here chasing the same issue. For four months, I have not received any of the month’s allowance. I have been borrowing since. The last time, I was asked to re-do the biometric registration which I did in December but still, I’m yet to receive my allowance.”
Another person said the non-payment of his NSS allowance has caused him to borrow from people with the hope of paying back when he receives his remuneration.
“I first came here in September 2017. I’ve been to the district office, I’ve been to the regional office and now, I’m here at the National Office. They said I had an issue with my name, that was in November. I went to the district and corrected it and I was assured that my allowance will come. I owe a lot of people, I owe about 2,000, I even owe my Landlord. Today, the plan is that, if the NSS does not give me my money, I’m not leaving here.”
The aggrieved personnel have vowed to stay at the premises of the NSS until they are paid.
However, the Executive Director of the National Service Scheme, Mustapha Ussif, said most of the angry personnel who besieged the secretariat’s Head Office have been paid.
He argued that about 98% of all National Service Personnel have been paid. He further explained that personnel who were struggling to receive their allowances were persons who were attempting to defraud the scheme.
The Secretariat currently pays GHS559 as a monthly allowance to personnel.