Mahama, Seddoh Announce 3-Year GHS160 Deduction Plan Affecting 70,000 National Service Personnel

The National Service Authority (NSA), under Director-General Ruth Seddoh, is facing fresh allegations of financial impropriety that critics say could eclipse the scandal linked to her predecessor, Gifty Oware Mensah.

At the center of the controversy is a private company, Zeus Atlas Ltd, reportedly contracted to handle a scheme involving monthly deductions of GHS160 from the allowances of National Service Personnel (NSPs), GHS100 for NSS-branded clothing and GHS60 for a capacity-building programme.

According to a petition circulating publicly, the arrangement stems from an agreement between the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) executives and Zeus Atlas, and could generate over GHS12.6 million from more than 70,000 service personnel nationwide. The petition states that each person is expected to pay GHS180 total, collected in three monthly instalments of GHS60 starting with the May allowance, and claims the first deduction was made without personnel being consulted or giving informed consent.

The petition also alleges that the NASPA President, in an online briefing, confirmed the programme would run for three years, meaning subsequent batches of service personnel would face the same charges. When some participants raised objections during that meeting, the petition claims the NASPA President downplayed their concerns, arguing the low attendance meant they couldn’t speak for the broader body of service personnel.

Key questions raised in the petition include:

• Why has participation been made mandatory rather than optional?
• Does NASPA have the legal or constitutional authority to commit tens of thousands of personnel to a multimillion-cedi financial obligation without their consent?
• Why have some NASPA executives reportedly admitted they weren’t fully briefed on the contract details, a claim that remains unverified?

Director-General Seddoh has so far not issued a public explanation regarding the agreement or the deductions.

Critics argue that if the capacity-building programme has genuine value, it should be voluntary, not enforced through automatic payroll deductions.

As of publication, none of the parties involved, the National Service Authority, NASPA, Zeus Atlas Ltd, or the Office of the President, had issued a public response to the allegations.