This, Mr Osei-Assibey believes, will make them become viable for the job market after completion.

He said the service period provides a yearlong unique opportunity for personnel to learn proper corporate governance practices which are the major skills required by most organisations in the country.

“In this day where finding jobs has become a difficult task, I urge you to take your work seriously. Use this period to improve your competencies; learn how to start and manage your own businesses so you don’t find yourself wanting after service,” he urged.

Mr Antwi gave the advice at the opening of a three-day orientation programme organised for the personnel posted to the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

In this orientation, personnel will be equipped with training and skills to control and manage traffic in towns and cities across the country.

Mr Antwi noted that the Urban Traffic Management Module was created and introduced by the NSS in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service in August 2015.

The module was to provide extra human resource to complement the efforts of the Police in the management of vehicular traffic in the country’s urban centres, particularly in Accra and Kumasi.

He further advised them to be disciplined, courteous, hardworking, and exhibit a high sense of professionalism wherever they would find themselves, and ensure that their actions are in conformity with the laws of the country.

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He stressed that though the collaboration between the NSS and the police has contributed to keeping the sanity on roads, there is the need to strengthen the collaboration to help commuters stay safe and alive while they ply the various routes to their workplaces, home, churches, and wherever they wish to go.

“We at NSS are ever prepared to engage more on this collaboration to explore several innovative ways to enhance our work and if possible increase the number of personnel to serve you in every nook and cranny of the country,” he emphasised.

He said, the module has contributed immensely and has also provided a unique opportunity for the personnel to gain skills in paramilitary policing and community service. 

Mr Osei-Assibey further noted that a total of 1,889 personnel have been posted to the police MTTD from the inception of the module in 2015 and out of that number, 100s of the personnel have been enlisted into the mainstream Police service.

The NSS Boss reiterated that every year, over 80,000 Ghanaian students who graduate from various accredited tertiary institutions are deployed to do a one-year mandatory national service to the country.

The graduates, he further stressed, constitute a pool of resources and that, there is the need for the police Administration to take advantage and request more of the personnel to be engaged in traffic management to reduce the huge vehicular congestion on the roads.

The Director-General of MTTD, DCOP Francis Aboagye Nyarko, on his part, said that it was the expectation of the police that the module would expose the service personnel to police-civilian relationships and a sense of patriotism and nationalism in serving the country.

“Additionally, the module is expected to expose the national service personnel to the operations of the police service and erase the negative stereotype they might have had about the police service,” he added.

Among the personalities present at the occasion were the Head of supervision of the National Insurance Commission, Mrs Stella Jonah, Commandant of the Police Academy, and ACP Darko Offei Lomotey.

The visit, according to the Minister, was to understudy Ghana’s national service scheme
programme to replicate it in their country.

Other members of the South Sudan delegation were a representative from the Ministry of
Finance and Planning, Mr Aluel Beda and Apio Adelino as well as a UNDP representative to South Sudan, Christiana Ahenkora.

According to Mr Abakar, the delegation was in the country to explore the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Management of NSS for knowledge sharing on youth development.

“We have done good feasibility studies and we have noticed that you have rich experience that we want to copy and paste in South Sudan,” he said.

Mr Abakar noted that the government of South Sudan had begun taking steps to invest in the youth to change their mindset and channel their youthful exuberance energy into
productive ventures that would propel them to assist in their country’s development.

He said their country recognises Ghana as a force that was why they took that decision to visit Ghana to understudy the operations of NSS to inculcate into theirs for accelerated
development.

Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, who received the South Sudan delegation on Friday, October 22, 2021, assured them of his willingness to share Ghana’s experience with them.

Mr Antwi, for his part, explained that the secret behind the success story of
Ghana’s NSS was the effective management structure, which comprised the board of directors and the executives who oversee the smooth running of the scheme.

He highlighted innovative programmes the management of NSS introduced over the years to equip young graduates with employable skills that would make them fit into the world market and also be relevant stakeholders in national development.

He assured the South Sudanese delegation of the full commitment of the management of NSS to provide their Ministry of Youth and Sports the needed support to develop the competencies of the youth in their country.

The Executive Director commended their ministry for taking cognizance of their youth
development and noted that “The youth of today are the future leaders in every country and therefore if it is inculcated in them the sense of the spirit of patriotism and love for their country and backed by the necessary moral tracing and knowledge, their life could definitely be transformed and could contribute meaningfully to their country’s development efforts.”

He added that there was the need for countries in Africa to pay more attention to the youth upbringing and development because according to him they constitute the potent resources that could be harnessed to transform the continent.

Present at the meeting were the Deputy Executive Director of NSS in charge of General
Services, Mrs Gifty Oware-Mensah, Deputy Executive Director in charge of Operations, Mr
Kwaku Ohene Gyan, and Director of General Administration, Mr Paul Owusu Appiah.

The Deputy Executive Director of the scheme in charge of General services, for her part, took time to explain her work schedule while Mr Djan spoke on the numerous economic projects embarked upon by the Scheme.

South Sudan, a country that is rich in natural resources including gold and diamond, has a total population of over 14 million people with about 73 per cent of them being youth.

Current records show that about 99 per cent of the youths in South Sudan are jobless.
Also, the country has been badly affected by the war which plagued the nation two years after achieving independence in 2011.