'NSS Insurance Grand Scheme To Reward NPP Financier'

A former Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Dr. Michael Kpessah-Whyte, has alleged that the compulsory insurance package for national service personnel is a venture to pay back a financier of the governing New Patriotic Party's (NPP) election campaign.

According to him, the insurance scheme may have been put together to reward the owner of a known insurance company, who supported the NPP's campaign with GH¢1 million.

He is thus of the view that the policy is not in the interest of National Service persons.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, Mr. Kpessah-Whyte said, the introduction of the insurance package was merely an attempt to enrich some persons fraudulently.

“I really don't think that this something that is genuinely intended to address the problem of National Service personnel. A few days ago, a senior member of the NPP on one of the TV stations said that, there is a particular man who had brought in 1 million cedis to support their [NPP] campaign and that man has not been sorted out yet. Google GLICO insurance and check who the owner is… track that TV interview and match the name of the person who was mentioned. This suggests that, we have a problem and we need to address it frontally,” he said.

The NSS partnered with MTN and Glico Life Insurance, earlier this week, to launch the life insurance cover for the over 90,000 personnel.

This compulsory insurance package spearheaded by various insurance companies is expected to pay claims to service personnel who get involved in accidents in their line of duty.

The claims vary from GHc 15,000 in cases of death or incapacitation and GHS3,000 for cases of disability.

As part of the insurance package, National Service personnel are entitled to a GHc 500 loan which is payable within six months.

But some service personnel have kicked against the package , saying that it is being imposed on them. According to them, they were not informed about the package before it was formally launched.

They also expressed disappointment that it was not made optional, but was made compulsory.

Mr. Kpessah-Whyte believes service personnel must mobilize against the package which he believes is a ripoff.

He told Richard Sky on Eyewitness News that ““National Service personnel are not posted to Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan or any of the conflict-prone areas. They are posted to Ghanaian public and private institutions…The policy looks good on paper, but the reality is such a claim needs to be backed by data.”

“In the two years I was at the Scheme, matters relating to deaths were about two or three, and matters relating to accidents were about three or four. Out of about 80, 000 personnel, if within two years you have two deaths which were not because of service, why would we think that there is such a risk to impose 15 cedis a month on each of them every year gathering a whopping 15 million cedis to an insurance company. It's a case of daylight robbery, unfortunately,” he said.

NASPA requested for insurance package – NSS Boss

Meanwhile, the acting Executive Director of the Scheme, Ussif Mustapha has justified the insurance package, saying that it was in the interest of the personnel.

He further noted that the idea for the insurance package was proposed to him by the leadership of the National Service Personnel Association .

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana