Government has approved a request from the National Service Secretariate (NSS) to increase the allowance of service personnel by about 60%. Service personnel will from January 2017 be paid a monthly allowance of GH¢559 from the GH¢350 they currently receive.
A letter sighted by citifmonline.com from the Ministry of Finance indicated the ministry gave the approval last week.
About 70,407 service personnel are currently serving in various institutions in the public and private sectors.
The acting Executive Director of the National Service Secretariate (NSS), Dr Michael Kpessah Whyte said the increment followed series of complaint from service personnel who said the current allowance was woefully inadequate considering their expenses and cost of living.
‘NSS not withholding January allowance’
The National Service Secretariat last month denied withholding allowances of personnel for December 2016 and January 2017. The secretariat, reacting to rumours in sections of the media that it will withhold allowances for December and January, said it will duly pay all personnel on time without delay.
In a statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, Ambrose Entsiwah Jnr., the secretariat said the government has already released funds for the payment of all personnel till the end of December 2016, and has also approved its budget for the year 2017.