National Service sacks 205 'illegal’ staff

Management of the National Service Scheme (NSS) says on the advice of the Minister of Education, it has withdrawn the staff who were recruited in December 2016 with immediate effect.

Over 205 workers are said to be affected by the dismissal.

Most of the employees were handed their appointment letters on 15th December, 2016, in spite of a pending petition.

In a press release issued recently in Accra and signed by Ussif Mustapha, Acting Executive Director of the NSS, the scheme stated, “This decision has been informed by a thorough consideration of violations of due process prior to the recruitment. These included petitions to the Public Services Commission (PSC) against the recruitment process, upon which the PSC in a letter dated 16th November, 2016, advised the former Ag. Executive Director to halt the recruitment process until the matter was properly resolved.

“This was, however, ignored and appointment letters were issued to some persons on 15th December, 2016.”

The Scheme, therefore, advised all persons who are affected by its new decision to look forward to a new opportunity to have their recruitments properly carried out.

In December last year a group calling itself ‘Supporting Staff of the National Service Scheme’ alleged that the immediate-past CEO, Michael Kpessa Whyte, paid a whopping sum of GH¢100,000 to the recruitment agency to employ new staff, most of who were members of the 2016 campaign team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The group petitioned Nana Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to review the new recruitment when it settles down.

At a press conference, the group claimed that the immediate past executive director by-passed it and handed appointment letters to ‘friends and cronies’ who were loyal to the previous government.