Pressure Mounts On NSS Over Unauthorised GH¢60 Deduction

An advocacy group representing National Service Personnel across Ghana has issued a strongly worded statement rejecting deductions made from members’ monthly allowances without their consent, describing the move as an unjustifiable burden on already struggling young Ghanaians.

The Concerned National Service Personnel (CNSP), in a press release, said it was taking a firm stand against the deduction of GH¢60 from the allowances of service personnel nationwide, an amount reportedly tied to the Zeus Atlas Capacity Building Program.

In the statement, the group insisted that no service personnel should have deductions taken from their allowances without prior knowledge, agreement, or the chance to opt in.

It described the charge as having been applied without any engagement or notice to those affected, a situation it says has left many personnel puzzled about where the funds are headed and why the sum was taken in the first place.

The group further argued that the existing monthly allowance is already too thin to cover the basic living costs of personnel across the country, pointing to expenses such as transportation, accommodation, feeding and utilities that service persons must contend with while serving the nation.

According to the statement, these financial pressures weigh most heavily on young graduates who are often navigating their first experience of financial independence while earning a modest stipend, and any additional charge only deepens that strain.

Citing these concerns, the CNSP outlined a set of demands, including the immediate refund of the GH¢60 already deducted from affected personnel, and a halt to further deductions intended to accumulate a reported GH¢180 charge per person for the capacity building programme.

The group said this figure, if allowed to stand, would represent a significant cumulative cost extracted from an allowance that many personnel already describe as barely enough to get by on.

Beyond the refund demand, the group is pushing for greater transparency and accountability in future policies affecting service allowances, as well as a review of any other unconsented deductions or initiatives it says adversely affect the welfare of personnel.

The CNSP contends that any programme requiring financial contributions from service personnel should be structured around clear communication, with affected individuals given the chance to understand the purpose of the charge and decide for themselves whether to take part.

The statement was careful to draw a line between its grievance and the underlying training initiative, stressing that the objection lies with how the charge was rolled out rather than with the merit of building skills among service personnel.

The CNSP suggested that many members might otherwise embrace such opportunities if the process were handled openly from the outset.

“This movement is not against capacity building or skills development; rather, it is a principled demand that participation in any programme must be voluntary and that deductions from our allowances must never occur without our informed consent.”

The CNSP also used the release to formally introduce its letterhead as the authentic identity for all future communications issued under its name, a move likely aimed at guarding against impersonation as the group’s advocacy gains public attention.

The group indicated that any statement not carrying this official letterhead and reference format should not be treated as originating from the movement.

The group closed its statement with an appeal to National Service Personnel across the country to remain united, informed and committed to the cause, framing the matter as a collective issue affecting thousands of young people currently serving the nation.

Meanwhile, the National Service Authority (NSA) says it did not authorise deductions from the allowances of national service personnel, insisting that a GH¢60 deduction for capacity building was a decision taken by the leadership of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA).

Deputy Director of the National Service Authority, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Kpeungu in his response on JoyNews stated,

“.”NASPA is an association of national service personnel. They have executives. The decisions of NASPA are not the decisions of the National Service Authority. They have a national president and other executives within the association. So if they take a decision, I’m not part of their meetings. Any time we have meetings, we are not part of the executive committee.

“The decisions are taken at that level. And then we are informed of the deduction process. So this issue of deductions, we were informed that they had a meeting and then they agreed that 60 Ghana cedis will be deducted. It is not a decision of the National Service Authority. It is a decision of the National Service Association”.