Ruth Dela Seddoh
The National Service Authority (NSA) has come under intense criticism over the controversial GH¢60 monthly deductions from the allowances of personnel to fund a purported capacity building programme.
Thousands of service personnel have raised concerns over a compulsory GH¢180 fee, deducted in three monthly instalments of GH¢60, for a capacity building programme organised by the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in partnership with Zeus Atlas Limited without their consent.
The service personnel have questioned the legal basis for the deductions and demanded an immediate refund of all the money already deducted, insisting that the programme should have been optional rather than compulsory.
A group of service personnel calling itself the Concerned National Service Personnel Association of Ghana, in a press statement dated Friday, July 17, 2026, said that while it supports efforts to empower them, such deductions lacked legal basis, transparency and accountability, and should therefore not be made compulsory for personnel.
The group also demanded that National Service Personnel Association immediately provide them specific provision of the NASPA Constitution authorising the compulsory deduction, as well as the provision of the law governing the National Service Authority which allows such deductions, among others.
“National Service Personnel deserve answers, not assumptions. Transparency is not optional when deductions are made from the allowances of young graduates already facing economic hardship,” the statement read.
According to the group, the deduction, which was happening at source even before their allowances were credited to their accounts, was unjustified.
Meanwhile, the National Service Personnel Association, in a press statement issued and signed by its President, Abdul Wahab Bala Mohammed, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, confirmed the said GH¢60 deductions and said it was meant for capacity building programme in partnership with a company called Zeus Atlas Limited.
According to the association, the programme is expected to provide personnel with practical skills to bridge the gap between graduation and employment, as it was undertaken in accordance with the association’s constitutional provisions and all required administrative processes.
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has called on the leadership of the National Service Authority to discontinue the ongoing capacity building programme and refund deductions made from the allowances of national service personnel.
Mr. Braimah, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, July 21, urged the NSA leadership to terminate the arrangement, and expressed concerns over the circumstances surrounding the deductions.
He said, “The leadership at the NSS/NSA should just end the so-called capacity whatever, abrogate the contract, and have the deducted funds refunded before the scheme gets into another wahala.”
Mr. Braimah further referred to findings from the forensic audit conducted following the National Service Scheme (NSS) scandal, raising concerns about activities undertaken in the name of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA).
He mentioned that the forensic audit cited unsupported payments of GH¢9,276,535.00 to NASPA, indicating how some significant payments were made to the association during the period.
Following the growing backlash against the National Service Authority, the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, and the NSA Board, have suspended the capacity building agreement by NASPA with Zeus, pending a comprehensive review.
Speaking on JoyNews yesterday, Deputy Director of the National Service Authority, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Kpeungu, reiterated that the Authority did not sanction the deductions and clarified that the initiative originated from NASPA.
Many service personnel argue that their monthly allowance of GH¢715 is already inadequate to cater for transportation, feeding and other basic living expenses, making the deductions an additional financial burden.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah