President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the National Service Scheme (NSS) will soon be upgraded to the status of an authority.

He disclosed this at the scheme’s 50th-anniversary celebration held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

According to him, a draft Bill is in the works to be presented to Parliament soon.

“I’m pleased to announce the upcoming presentation of a draft policy document to guide the scheme’s implementation. This is the first time in its existence that such a policy document will have been presented. Subsequently, a draft Bill will be developed and laid before Parliament for consideration. This draft Bill aims to transition the Scheme to the status of an Authority, providing a legal framework for the employment of e-models. When in place, the policy and the law will give backing to a model called ‘deployment for employment.’ The scheme is designed to encourage young graduates to create a positive impact and contribute to the development of our nation,” he announced.

President Akufo-Addo praised the government’s youth programmes under the scheme, highlighting the transformational agenda’s alignment with the new strategic direction of using the Scheme and other agencies to address the employment needs of fresh graduates.

He further stated that the economic enclave initiative will create 81,000 jobs in agricultural and allied sectors over the next four years.

“Looking forward, the NSS is poised for comprehensive transformation, recognising the evolving global landscape, and the imperative for sustainable development. My administration is committed to elevating the scheme beyond this critical current role. Through strategic organisational development, the Scheme will transition to a dynamic agent modelling young talents for the workforce. This holistic transformation agenda is tied to the new strategic direction of using the Scheme and other pro-youth agencies to address the specific employment needs of fresh graduates,” he said.

“In doing so, the Scheme is creating and executing initiatives to harness the potential of the youth for civic duties and national cohesion and help create employment for sustainable development. Together with other partners and with support from the Ministry of Finance, the following are being undertaken by the Scheme in the agricultural sector, under the economic enclave programme in the next four years.”

“Deployment of 65,000 graduates youth to the agricultural enclaves, creation of 81,000 jobs in agricultural and allied sectors. Development of 20,000 hectares of land for production, production of 110, 000 metric tons of food, production of 1.5 million birds in the generation of revenue of some $92 million by year,” he added.