NSS insurance could be ‘create, loot and share’ – Whyte

Immediate past Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Dr Michael Kpessa Whyte, has described the insurance package for national service personnel as dangerous and a recipe for “extortion”.

According to him, in previous years it was agreed that “out of the GHS 10 that they normally pay as NASPA dues the scheme should put GHS 1 aside into a welfare fund which presupposes that if there are 80,000 service personnel in a year and you take GHS 1 invariably you are going to be having about GHS 80,000 per year for that fund”.

He explained “if one person is even given GHS 5,000 for whatever contingencies they face and you have just about four or five in a year it means year in year out you will be accumulating a lot of money plus interest on investment over time”.

Mr Whyte who was speaking in an interview with Moro Awudu on Class FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Friday, November 3 said he does not know how “at this point where a service personnel serving for 11 months is going to be charged GHS 15 per month for the 12 month of the service duration and that money which will amount to over GHS 15 million is going to be given to an insurance company”.

He continued : “I am at a loss exactly what problem we are solving because it is not like the dues has been stopped, it is not like there is news that the welfare fund has been scrapped, it is not like the service personnel are agitating that they are at risk and they will need insurance. I don’t know how all that has been subordinated to this approach and I think that it is a dangerous thing. We must be careful that this is not a create, loot and share strategy”.

Some service personnel across the country are challenging the introduction of the compulsory insurance launched by the secretariat which will see a monthly deduction of GHS 15 from their allowance.

Some other benefits of the insurance scheme spearheaded by various insurance companies, include free phone calls and text messages, claims varying from GHS 15,000 in cases of death or incapacitation and GHS3,000 for cases of temporary disability.

In addition, there will be GHS 500 loan payable within six months amongst others.

However, Mr Whyte feels the insurance policy is unfortunate as there is no need for that.