Director General, Felix Gyamfi, says a series of meetings with the Finance Ministry will lead to a possible upward review of allowances in the national budget.

“There is a window for us to include it in the budget very soon. The thing that I am certain about is that the new cohorts will most likely receive the new allowances,” he added.

He was speaking at a Pre-Service Orientation ahead of the upcoming service year in Kumasi.

The National Service Authority has released PIN codes for 132,393 prospective national service personnel, a figure lower than numbers realized in the last three years.

For the coming national service year, personnel expected to be enrolled is pegged at 132,393, 26% lower than figures from the previous three years.

Compared to figures from 2022/2023 national service year, which is the highest over the past three years, a 36% reduction has been realized.

About 3,597 submissions from twenty-two institutions were not processed since the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission describes the institutions as unaccredited.

To the NSA, stricter validation protocols and increased transparency have helped in the elimination of inflated or fraudulent submissions.

Director General, Felix Gyamfi believes the reduced enrolment figures will help the government save cost and improve remuneration for personnel to be enrolled.

“If we do a calculation of seven hundred and fifty cedis as against the number that we are saving, you will immediately see the number being saved,” he added.

The service is encouraging Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to absorb service personnel to drive interest of the youth in the sector.

According to the Director General, the SMEs hold the key to economic development, hence the need to aid training of personnel.

Mr. Gyamfi indicated, “If you are a one-man business and we access your business, find out that whatever you are doing is tangible, we can send people there.

“Why are national service people not posted to Abossey Okai, Kokompe and Suame Magazine? They have billions in the sector, most of these businesses that sell car parts are bigger than some IT businesses in terms of capital,” he observed.

The Director General also indicated ten thousand personnel will be posted for military training. The choice to be made will be determined by the Secretariat.

Already, the course outline has been drawn for personnel, with priority on discipline, alertness and emergency response.

He wants young people to open up for opportunities being presented to them by the Authority.

Speaking to Adom News, some trainees at Berekum College of Education expressed strong opposition to the move, arguing that it would place an unnecessary financial burden on them even before they begin their teaching careers.

They fear that financial institutions may exploit them through excessive deductions, making it harder for them to repay the loans.

“We prefer the small allowance to any form of loan,” one trainee said, insisting that the stipend, though minimal, provides much-needed financial relief.

However, others support the Minister’s decision, believing that the allowance system has outlived its usefulness.

They argue that switching to a loan scheme will put them on equal footing with their university counterparts, who do not receive such stipends.

These trainees are calling on the Ministry to increase the loan amount, as the existing allowance is insufficient to cover their needs.

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Speaking at a meeting with the principals of various colleges of education in Accra, the Minister explained that the policy was unsustainable and did not align with global best practices in higher education.

He emphasized that it is not the government’s responsibility to provide meals for tertiary students, arguing that continuing the policy at this level of education is financially unfeasible.

As an alternative, the government plans to replace the feeding programme with an enhanced student loan scheme, enabling trainees to cater for their own living expenses, including meals.

“There is no justification for feeding students at the tertiary level. We must transition from the allowance system to an enhanced student loan scheme to allow them to support themselves,” he stated.

However, he assured that in the interim, trainees will still receive their allowances until the transition process is fully implemented.

This shift, according to the Minister, is aimed at ensuring the sustainability of government spending in the education sector while promoting greater financial independence among teacher trainees.

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In a statement dated Sunday, September 29, GNMTA, which represents the interests of rotational nurses, highlighted that the government has yet to pay these nurses and midwives, who have been working for over a year.

“The Ghana Nurse-Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA) seeks to address a critical issue regarding the unpaid allowances of our Rotational Nurses and Midwives. For more than a year, our interns, having completed their mandatory one-year service, have not received their allowances. This delay has caused significant financial hardship and emotional distress among our members,” part of the statement read.

The Association also pointed out that despite an increase in the allowances on two occasions between September 2022 and 2023, some interns have only received payments totaling GH¢9000 for 12 months, averaging GH¢750 per month, instead of the expected GH¢1393.93.

GNMTA is, therefore, urging the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to:

1.  Immediately rectify the discrepancies in the disbursement of allowances.
2.  Ensure the interns receive the correct amounts as outlined in the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) document, including any arrears from the previous year.
3. Provide clear and transparent communication about the allowance structure and any future changes to prevent further confusion and unrest.

Source: Adomonline

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This follows the refusal of members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) to call off their prolonged industrial action.

Despite a court ruling declaring the strike illegal, the teachers have not returned to work. Consequently, salaries for those who did not work in July have been frozen.

Speaking to JoyNews, the Director for Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Professor Francis Nunoo stated that, teachers have eight days to resume their duties or risk forfeiting their July salaries.

He insists that, efforts are being made to settle the outstanding allowances.

“We are fact-checking them and based on the availability of national funds, it will hit their account. All the necessary paperwork, everything is being worked on. The payment system has been done. All that is left is for the money to hit people’s accounts and we are looking at the situation of maximum of two weeks for it to hit their accounts”.

Meanwhile, the teachers are expected to meet with the government and Parliament in separate meetings to end the impasse.

Professor Francis Nunoo told JoyNews’ Evans Mensah that he is hopeful the meetings will be fruitful.

“We have an attendance list of those who are working. Those people will be exempted but those who have not worked all through the period may be affected. But we hope it won’t get to that far. On Wednesday, we are engaging with them. The Minister for Education, Dr Osei Yaw Adutwum has called the various government stakeholders to sit at a table and we hope this will be the last time for us to solve the problem so that we don’t have to freeze their salaries.”

However, the National Labour Commission (NLC) says GTEC did no wrong in freezing the salaries of the teachers.

Speaking on JoyNews, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Ofosu Asamoah insisted that the ongoing strike is illegal.

“This is like two elephants fighting and I feel so sad about it. The court has injuncted the strike, yet they are continuing with the strike. With that, it makes the strike illegal because the court says ‘This strike is not right, so stop’.

“When it becomes an illegal strike, the law provides that they should not be paid for the period they engaged in the illegal strike,” he explained.

The demonstration, which took place on  campus, saw a large turnout of final-year students.

A total of 570 students who joined the protest, cited among other things issues like pending results, anomalies in existing results, incomplete results, and the lack of a student portal and index numbers which needs to be addressed.

They claimed that, these unresolved issues have severely impacted their academic progress and future career plans.

Despite multiple attempts to resolve these issues through official channels, the students have not seen any meaningful action from the college authorities, leading to their decision to protest.

Among the primary concerns are the delay in releasing academic results which have left many students uncertain about their standings and eligibility for graduation.

Additionally, inconsistencies and errors in the results released have added to their confusion and anxiety.

Another critical issue highlighted by the demonstrators is the absence of a functional student portal.

In an era where digital access to academic records and communication is standard, the lack of such a portal has hindered students’ ability to track their academic progress and receive timely updates.

Also, the non-issuance of index numbers has further compounded the difficulties, making it challenging for students to properly identify themselves within the academic system.

The Principal of the college, Dr. Emmanuel Carsamar, received their petition and assured the students that their concerns would be addressed in the shortest possible time.

Speaking to Adom News, the trainees revealed that the government still owes them allowances for about two semesters.

According to the students, the last payment they received was in February of this year, which covered arrears from the previous year.

The trainees expressed frustration over the delay in payments, highlighting the financial hardships they face as a result.

They noted that parents and guardians often assume they receive monthly allowances, which is not the case.

The students are calling on the government to address the backlog of unpaid allowances to alleviate their financial burden.

The situation has left many trainees struggling to meet their daily needs, further emphasizing the importance of timely allowance payments.

The trainees’ appeal to the government underscores the critical need for support to ensure their educational and personal well-being.

The Unions hit the streets of Ho on Friday to call on the government to approve the four recommended allowances tabled by the Unions’ leadership out of 17.

The Unions included the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH).

Clad in red and marching on the streets with aggression, amid singing and dancing, the protesters displayed placards some of which read “Teachers are not beggars”, “We deserve better condition of service”, “Our take home can’t send us home”, “We want our reward on earth,” and “Treat teachers with decency”.

The Volta Regional Secretary of the GNAT, Kassim Seidu Baba, presented a petition containing their demands to the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa.

He outlined the hardship area allowance, supplemental evaluation stipend, educational material/online tutoring assistance stipend, and an increase in the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) allowance as the demands tabled before the government.

Mr. Baba emphasised that the allowances needed to be approved, highlighting the hardship teachers face due to the incidents of high inflation among other economic difficulties.

He said, “our members have been subjected to severe financial strains due to the tough economic realities. The situation has exacerbated, particularly as our teachers are grappling with the severe adversities brought about by the current economic climate.”

The Director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, Augustus Awitty, who received the petition on behalf of the Minister, assured the protesters of their petition receiving the needed attention.

“We appreciate your dedication to education, and we will ensure that your petition reaches the appropriate authorities for consideration,” he said.

The unions have warned that if their demands are not met before May 13th, they may consider further actions to impress on the government to act on them.

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In a statement on Friday, April 5, the Secretariat emphasized that eligible personnel will obtain their allowances through E-Zwich at their designated banks nationwide.

NSS also extended appreciation to service personnel for their understanding during the delay in payments.

Additionally, the Secretariat reassured all personnel that the allowances for February and March 2024 have been handled and are expected to be disbursed promptly.

Read press statement below:

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The Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) have announced plans to withdraw its services nationwide effective Saturday, April 15, 2023.

The decision, according to TEWU is to demand the payment of professional and skills development allowance.

The Deputy General Secretary, Charles Kofi Osei on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem said the action is a necessary evil as all attempts to get their concerns addressed have proven futile.

He noted that, they are yet to receive any feedback despite letters submitted to relevant stakeholders.

Mr Osei revealed TEWU, whose members are non-teaching staff including bursars, cooks, cleaners, administrators, accountants, and auditors, among others are owed arrears since 2021.

“The allowance was introduced in November 2020 and teachers were paid theirs but we were exempted although processes leading to payment have been concluded,” he said.

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He stressed that, the strike is not a political action but a move to ensure members are paid what is due them.

Mr Osei added that, the union will not hesitate to rescind their decision if their demands are met by April 15.

Play the audio above:

In a statement, the association urged personnel to get their E-zwich cards and visit their various banks or agents for their monies.

NASPA appreciated personnel for exercising restraint all these while amidst assurances that it will facilitate payments for February, March and April.

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‘We appreciate your patience, and we hope to get the payment for the subsequent month done soon,” the statement assured.

Below is NASPA’s statement

Date: 31ST MARCH 2023
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PAYMENT OF JANUARY ALLOWANCE
The Executive Board affectionately extends greetings and wishes to inform you that the allowance for JANUARY has been paid. We appreciate your patience and we hope to get the payment for the subsequent month done soon.

Kindly get your e-zwich card and visit your banks or agents.
NB: Your dashboard can show processing while you have been paid. You ought to visit the bank to confirm payment.

The President of the NABCO Trainees Association of Ghana, Dennis Opoku Katakyie, who confirmed the payment noted it is for November 2021.

“NABCO trainees are hereby informed that stipends payment for November 2021, as one month’s settlement of the 10 months arrears, has been processed. In actuality, nine months, counting from December 2021 through to August 2022, are still outstanding,” a statement signed by Mr Katakyie read.

The NABCO trainees have expressed appreciation to the government for taking a step “in ameliorating the unfortunate situation in which we find ourselves.”

They have also appealed to the government, particularly the Ministry of Finance, to “affix trainees’ outstanding arrears into its subsequent allocations to enable the Secretariat to effect payment for the remaining months.”

However, the association has cautioned it will use every means possible to ensure all the outstanding allowances are paid.

“If after a considerable period of time, arrears for the remaining months are not fully paid, the leadership will recruit another draconian measure to forcibly ensure that we are paid. We have done it before, so we can do it again.”

The Nurse Educator’s Group, a specialised group under Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, has commenced a seven-day industrial action targeted at drawing the attention of the Ministry of Health to address issues relating to the payment of as many as nine allowances.

The group argued that their demand stems from the recent economic challenges which have shot up the cost of living.

The Group, at the end of its 2022 Annual General Meeting held at Sunyani, called for the review of the research and book allowance as well as the other eight allowances which are due to its members.

Per the schedule contained in a release to the press, the Group says that it will commence the wearing of red arm/wrist bands in all health training institutions from 11th – 17th August 2022, 18th – 19th August 2022 – withdrawal of care-study supervision and conduct of mid-semester exams if nothing is done to resolve the matter.

They added that there would be the withdrawal of classroom teaching and other services in all health training institutions by 2nd September 2022.

Speaking on The Pulse on the JoyNews Channel, Friday, the Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the group, John-Paul Semanyo, lamented the unfair treatment meted out to teachers in the various nursing training colleges across the country.

He argued that the situation is at variance with the condition of their counterparts in other institutions of higher learning.

“We have been crying foul for a long time. It is not like what we are doing here is different from what our colleagues in some universities do. So why pay us less, a meager allowance for that matter?”

Labour Consultant, Yiadom Boakye Amponsah who made the call said if the government has signed an MOU with the members of CLOGSAG on the matter, then it has no choice but pay the allowances’.

According to him, if he was in government, he would not have entertained such development, saying it does not make sense.

“I really don’t understand these terms from CLOGSAG. You accept to work for the government and have accepted all the terms and conditions to be highly confidential and not involve yourself in politics, you wake up one day and say you need ‘neutrality allowance’ or else you won’t go to work.

“I don’t agree with them but if the government has signed MOU with them, then it has committed itself and needs to pay because their explanation is very flawed and should not be entertained,” he told Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show Monday.

CLOGSAG members laid down their tools since Thursday, April 21, 2022, following the inability of the government to pay the allowance as agreed upon in January this year.

Most government agencies and departments were affected last week by the strike.

The association has already given indication that it will call off the strike on the condition that government makes a commitment to pay the allowances due them.

The consultant has urged the government to go into agreement with CLOGSAG as the effective date as elapsed and stop playing games as it undermines the tenet of negotiation.

Listen to the audio below for more:

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The allowances include; entertainment allowance of ¢1500 a month, home enhancement loan of about ¢2000, travel per diem of $1500, allowance for a replacement for eye lenses at ¢1000 yearly and inconvenience allowance of GH¢500 per day.

This revelation has sparked a conversation about protecting the taxpayers’ monies.

But among the tall list, what has captured the eyes of Ghanaians is the allowance that caters for inconvenience.

Social media users on Twitter say they are battling to grasp the reason a worker should be paid inconvenience allowance for the work he or she is paid a large amount of money to do.

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They argue that paying a worker such an allowance when the Ghanaian youth are unable to get jobs and better working conditions of service, is unfair and unacceptable.

Some users noted that the Electronic Transaction levy would not have been necessary if government had addressed such ill spending.

“Inconvenience allowance.. But you want the young doctor to go to the village with no electricity, internet or roads and manage with his salary….Yoo yate,” another user wrote.

“Clothing allowance of GH¢10,000, inconvenience allowance GH¢500 per day”

– Samson Lardy outlines allowances State-Owned Enterprises’ executives enjoy. #JoySMS pic.twitter.com/TTPOUsbjAM

— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) April 25, 2022

WTH is inconvenience allowance??? Like all workers doing OT should be paid that too. https://t.co/uBVOlm1qDu

— Rue (@RUE07) April 25, 2022

Inconvenience https://t.co/QvapU5OAPu shuttered.

— MONEY✌?? (@yussif_baraky) April 25, 2022

Inconvenience allowance? What is that? https://t.co/3XnEvfnUKd

— Edem (@JonasKedzI) April 25, 2022

Inconveniencing the economy? https://t.co/gf2IJ9W07u

— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) April 25, 2022

If Government cuts down all of these unnecessary waste of monies, we won’t need E-levy https://t.co/8Y381uXTgt

— Shere Khan (@N_O_IIX) April 25, 2022

The question now is… What is so “inconvenient” that you have to be paid 500gh per day to do it?

— mr asante (@k_asante10) April 25, 2022

According to him, over 10 members have been sacked between 2021 and 2022 and can therefore authoritatively say that no member has been involved in politics.

“It would surprise you that, this year and last year, our members who contested for assembly members were even sacked though assembly member position is non-partisan but the Supreme Court has ruled that no member of the association is involved in such acts and so to the best of my knowledge, we don’t have members who are involved in politics but when such person is caught, they would be sacked,” he said.

He was speaking on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem Friday after (CLOGSAG) laid down their tools effective [Thursday] April 21, 2022.

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They are demanding the payment of their neutrality allowances.

This follows a statement released by the association on April 5, 2022, saying that the government has delayed in paying its members the allowance in question, hence the decision to embark on strike.

But Mr Acquah said the neutrality allowance is a new allowance they negotiated with government and therefore believes the allowance payment will help the group’s commitment to be neutral.

He said the conditions of service are negotiated between a member and the employer, which he says is different from the appointment letters given to them.

To him, the union a member belongs to has the right to negotiate the conditions on their behalf adding that not all the conditions are spelt out in the appointment letters.

Speaking on the way forward, Mr Acquah said they are yet to meet the finance ministry and see the payment plan and how favourable it will be.

He said the piecemeal approach in dealing with their allowances leaves much to be desired.

Justice Dzamefe, therefore, called on the government to better their conditions of service as the current state of affairs is nothing to write home about.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Meeting of the Association in Accra on Wednesday, Justice Dzamefe said it has now become an annual battle to get the allowances paid.

He said they are particularly concerned about the delays in payment of their allowances, a situation they described as sad.

“Year in year out, we have complained about this issue of nonpayment of allowances or delays in doing so. But, like we said in 2019, payment of allowances has become one of the biggest issues for the Association.

“It is sad that judges in Ghana will have to fight every year for their legitimate allowances to be paid. To say the least, it is sad that the leadership of the Association has to trek to the Ministry of Finance and Controller and Accountant General’s Department and Audit Service for allowances to be paid. Therefore, we have to fall on friends at the seat of government to push for such allowances to be paid,” he stressed.

Citing fuel allowances as an example, Justice Dzamefe said, “as of September 2021, we still have not received any fuel allowance for the year.

“It is so frustrating, to say the least; without mincing words, we are so frustrated. We feel disrespected about the way our allowances are paid. As if it is a favour being done us,” Mr Dzamefe complained.

He expressed disquiet about the fact that for many years, fuel allowances are always paid in arrears, “it has always been a refund.

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“As usual, we use our own money from our taxed salaries to buy fuel, this is later refunded after so many months and taxed as if it was paid upfront. In effect, we pay double taxes for fuel. Tax on salaries and ex-pump taxes,” he stated.

The Chief Justice, Justice Anin-Yeboah, who was present at the ceremony, acknowledged the challenging circumstances under which members work but urged them to try and win the trust of the public, “we have serious constraints as an institution. In a population of over 30 million, we have less than 404 Judges and Magistrates administering justice in a litigious society like Ghana.

“The courts of justice may not easily be accessible to the poor or the legally aided litigant. However, we have to do our best within the limited logistics constraints to serve the justice needs of our compatriots.”

For example, from central Accra to Nsawam, there is not a single court on that stretch until Amasaman. This should not happen in any civilised society. The same situation is true for Kumasi. From Kumasi central to Obuasi, there is no court on the way and that is a distance of about 36 miles.

The Chief Justice said, these constraints notwithstanding, members of the judiciary need to adjust to them in the hope that government will apply more resources to provide court infrastructure to support justice delivery in the country.

He used the occasion to applaud the Executive and the Legislature for the construction of new courts under the District Assembly Common Fund, “the judiciary is now to receive over a hundred courts throughout the country within the next year,” Justice Anin-Yeboah announced.

Speaking during his ministerial vetting, Mr Agyeman- Manu acknowledged the frontline workers who have put their life on the line to combat the novel Coronavirus.

When asked why such a recognition has not yet been translated into monetary form, the outgoing Health Minister stated “we are doing our best”.

He attributed the delays to inconsistencies in data and said he has asked the facility managers to review the list.

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Grilled by the vetting committee that the delay could affect the moral and delivery of the said workers, Mr Agyeman-Manu gave his word that by close of this week, they will be paid.

However, he mentioned in the five-hour vetting that the payments will be made only after monies have been released to the sector.