Self-Financing Service Scheme

The proposal to make the National Service Scheme (NSS) self-financing and wean it of government subvention is a laudable one, which must be encouraged.

When institutions are managed by people with foresight and vision, they are able to turn their fortunes around.

We can cite the efforts of Professor Stephen Adei, the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), to illustrate how progressive managers can leave legacies for the institutions that they preside over. While we appreciate the efforts of the pioneers of GIMPA, such as Mamphey, it is a fact that Prof. Adei has executed major changes and made the institute a real centre of excellence.

Already, the National Service Scheme has taken some progressive steps, in addition to creating a website which accepts enrolment and posting on the net.

Those efforts have saved many eligible candidates for national service a lot of time, money, inconvenience and, above all, anxiety.

Certainly, if the service is taken off the Consolidated Fund, the government could use the savings in other critical areas of national development.

Should the proposal from the National Co-ordinator of the scheme, Mr Obiri Yeboah, and his men come to fruition, they would have left a worthy legacy. They should, therefore, be given the needed support to carry out whatever proposals are sustainable.

In our traditional set-up, any family member who tends to be independent wins the respect and admiration of other members of the family. Consequently, managers who are able to convert a challenge into an opportunity will win our unalloyed admiration.

Modern management practices encourage managers to undertake bold ventures which will yield positive results. Indications are that entering the hospitality industry may be part of the ventures which the service may consider.

National Service persons are doing a good job in their respective areas. By their efforts, they are contributing their quota towards national development and their roles must be recognised as such.

Many of them are acquiring on-the-job experience which would be beneficial when they become permanently employed.

It is important to eliminate any frustration, such as delays in the payment of allowances, which might confront them. When they are happy, many of them will be able to do their best.

We wish the scheme all the best and hope that other subvented organisations will follow suit.