The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has called on the leadership of the National Service Authority (NSA) to discontinue the ongoing capacity-building programme and refund deductions made from the allowances of national service personnel.

His comments come amid growing concerns among some national service personnel over deductions made from their monthly allowances, including a reported GH¢60 charge for capacity building.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, July 21, Mr Brimah urged the NSA leadership to terminate the arrangement and expressed concerns over the circumstances surrounding the deductions.

"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," he stated.

Mr Brimah also 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).

The forensic audit cited unsupported payments of GH¢9,276,535.00 to NASPA, indicating that significant payments were made to the association during the period.

According to the findings, there were no formal agreements or memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the NSS and NASPA defining the terms, purpose, scope, and conditions under which the funds were transferred.

It also stated that there was no evidence of accountability or retirement of the funds by NASPA leadership to justify how the monies were applied.

NSA distances itself from deductions

The National Service Authority has, however, stated that it did not authorise any deductions from the allowances of national service personnel.

According to the Authority, the GH¢60 deduction for capacity building was a decision taken by the leadership of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA), rather than the NSA.

The clarification follows complaints from some national service personnel over deductions from their meager monthly allowances.

Some personnel have argued that the monthly allowance of GH¢715 is already inadequate to meet basic needs such as transportation, feeding, and other essential expenses, adding that the deductions have further increased their financial burden.

Meanwhile, addressing the press on Tuesday, 21 July, the President of NASPA, Abdul Wahab Bala Mohammed, announced the immediate suspension of the Capacity Building Programme pending a comprehensive review.

The suspension follows public criticism of a GH¢60 deduction from the allowances of some service personnel, who argued that they were not adequately consulted before the deductions were made.