National Service Scheme (Nss) Day, An orientation programme for service personnel of the National Service Scheme (NSS) has taken place at Bekwai in the Ashanti region.
The objective of the one-day programme was, among other things, to sensitize service personnel on work ethics and the importance of doing national service.
Speaking at the programme, the Municipal Manager of Human Resource at the Bekwai Municipal Assembly, Mrs Rachel Botchway, called on service personnel to adhere to laid-down rules and regulations, and submit to their superiors at the workplace so as to learn and tap from their rich experiences.
Mrs Botchway cautioned personnel against indulging in any form of dealings that could result in negative implications and cosequences.
She said work ethics could be violated by some superiors and urged service personnel not to compromise on their integrity, but to follow the instructions of their superiors with caution.
Briefing personnel about the history NSS, the Ashanti Regional Director of the NSS, Mrs Jennifer Bempah, said the Scheme was established by an Act of parliament, Act 426, a progression from the decree that introduced it in the 1970s.
Sensitizing them about the new payment system (e-zwich platform) through which service personnel are to be paid, Mrs Bempah said service personnel should fill and submit a monthly duty form to the NSS Secretariat before the 20th of every month and that all completed forms should be endorsed by the various heads of institutions with the official stamp.
She warned that payment of service allowance would be based strictly on the submission of the duty forms and that any service personnel who failed to submit the forms after the deadline would have to forego his or her allowance for the said month.
She said with the introduction of the monthly duty forms, there would no longer be any annual assessment except for nurses, personnel on study leave and those in the private organizations.
Mrs Bempah advised service personnel against fraudulent acts with regard to postings and such other things as they would not go unpunished.
Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive, a Deputy Co-ordinating Director at the Bekwai District Assembly, Alahaji Yakubu Dauda, urged service personnel to be hardworking, adding that tutelage during national service was a means to future employment opportunities.
Other speakers at the event, attended by about 150 national service personnel, were the Municipal Finance Officer and the Municipal Director for the National Health Insurance Scheme.