Edem Agbana, who formerly served as the Deputy National Youth Organiser for the National Democratic Congress, has referred to the rise in the allowance paid to National Service Personnel by the government to GHC 715.57 as being "wickedness."
According to him, the government ought to pay every service person a minimum of GHC 1,500 according to the present inflation and dollar rates.
"It is sheer wickedness to increase the allowance to Gh715, because the government has the capacity to pay Gh1,500 for the personnel," he added. "The government has the capacity to pay Gh1,500 for the personnel."
According to a statement released by the National Service Scheme (NSS), the government has granted clearance for an increase in the monthly stipend that NSS workers would receive from Gh559.04 to Gh715.57 beginning in January 2023. This increase will take place.
Mr. Agbana characterised the increase of GHC159 as insignificant during an interview with Nana Jantuah of Nhyira FM's Kuro Yi Mu Nsem.
According to the parliamentary candidate for the Ketu North seat, he anticipated that the government will raise the NSS stipend to at least Gh1,500 in order to make the personnel feel more at ease.
"Transportation fees, food, and other things are now expensive, and Gh715 cannot even last for two weeks for the personnel," he continued.
He explained that the stipend provided by the National Service Scheme was raised by the NDC government in 2016 from GHC 350 to GHC 559, which had a currency conversion value of $159 at the time. However, the value of GHC 715 in dollars is currently only $62.
"The value of Gh559 is way higher than the value of Gh715 at this time and is an insult to the National Service Scheme personnel," he continued. "The value of Gh715 is significantly lower than the value of Gh559 at this time."