President of the Ghana National Service Personnel Association (NASPA), Philip Burberry Quaye, has expressed utmost disappointment in Dr Michael Kpessah Whyte, former Executive Director of the National Service Scheme, following his description of the new mandatory insurance scheme for service personnel as "daylight robbery."

The National Service Scheme in partnership with MTN and Glico Life Insurance, earlier this week launched a life insurance cover for the over 90,000 personnel. The 12-month package covers death, injury, medicals among other serious implications that may affect their wellbeing during the year of service.

But Dr. Kpessah Whyte commenting on the move, pooh-poohed its relevance, saying personnel hardly die or fall sick whilst on service.

He sighted that in his two-year stay in office, only three people were confirmed dead during their national service and wondered why over 70,000- 80,000 people would have to be insured.

In a rebuttal, Mr. Burberry Quaye said the comments were unfortunate. While reiterating the need for the insurance package, he noted that Kpessah Whyte’s statistics was inaccurate.

“It’s rather unfortunate that the immediate past Executive Director of the NSS will put out falsehood. I think he lost touch with the service personnel. Or probably, he was not interested in the welfare of the personnel. For Eastern Region alone, deaths that were reported were five… That time, he was fighting NASPA. Was it not his time that NASPA National was abandoned? Was it not his time that he decided that he was not going to allow them conduct national elections? So if such a person comes to say this policy is daylight robbery, I think he has to come again and apologise. If you don’t care about service personnel, that is your business. But you don’t also say things that are false just to make your case. Or is he playing politics?” he queried in an interview with Ghanaweb.com.



The NSS insurance scheme

Per the policy an amount of ¢15.00 will be deducted from each of the over 91,000 personnel posted this year.

This means each National Service Person would have paid an amount of ¢135 by the end of 9-months service period.

This works out to ¢12,402,585 which will be paid to insurance company, Glico.

The insurance package which takes retrospective effect from September 1 this year, will make GH¢3,000 available to service persons who suffer accidents that will keep them off their duties at user agencies for a month.

Those who suffer permanent or temporary disability through accidents during the service year will also be entitled to GH¢15,000 insurance cover.

In addition, the next of kin of service persons who die while undertaking the mandatory national exercise will receive the same amount from Glico Life.