NSS personnel petition government to increase their allowance

A group, calling itself Concerned National Service Personnel want President Akufo-Addo and the National Service Secretariat to adjust upwards their monthly allowance from the current GH¢559.

They argue that the rising cost of living has made it difficult for them to depend on the allowance even for their basic needs.

They complain that in most cases they have had to borrow from others to be able to transport themselves to their places of work.

The leader of the group, Barimah Amoako Elijah who says although they cannot dictate a particular amount they want their allowance adjusted to, they want the government to consider their petition and act in their favour.

“Since we are in a situation where because of the COVID-19, more businesses have collapsed, fuel prices have increased and cost of living has increased. Averagely, service personnel spend about GH¢25 so you can imagine, 30 days will accumulate to over GH¢600, and we taking GHS559 gives us a negative balance. Sometimes we have to borrow to get money to go to work so the President should do something about it for us. We can’t give any specific amount, but we want them to increase it,” he said.

All graduates of tertiary institutions in Ghana are mandated by law to complete a year’s mandatory service at various institutions across the country.

They are currently paid a monthly allowance of GH¢559.

The last time personnel witnessed an increase in their allowance was in April 2017.

The allowance was increased from GH¢350.00 a month to GH¢559.04 a month.