GREEDY BASTARDS

Power corrupts; Absolute power corrupts absolutely…

This is a very common dictum that seems to be the hallmark of several institutions and officials within the frontiers of the nation. For years, many people at the helm of affairs have been affiliated with corruption in one way or the other. Some hold on to power for a long time and tend to abuse it for their selfish interests.

A person would have thought that, in this knowledgeable and technological era, those who know better would have heightened their knowledge base and acted in a more prim and proper manner whilst those who don’t know better might have learnt from their colleagues and ceded the tendency to act unfairly to the detriment of innocuous persons.

In order not to mystify the minds of the readers and Ghanaians, I’d directly zoom into the core issues of my article. In fact, there have been lots of controversies surrounding the National Service Scheme in this country. But the controversies do not wipe out the legitimacy of the National Service Scheme as it has become widely mandatory for virtually every youth who completes his or her tertiary level of education.

The scheme is intended to groom the youth to face their future challenges. One significant factor which seems to convince a greater number of the youth to look beyond their plight and adhere to the National Service Scheme is the issue of “service to your country”.

Paradoxically, this “service to your country” has metamorphosed into insensitivity and infidelity, therefore characterizing the National Service Secretariat, specifically, in the Western Region. Some authorities of the National Service Secretariat have indeed proven beyond doubts that they are nothing but insensitive cheats. Their irritating foolproof character has blindfolded them to the extent that they always become content with inflicting deep wounds within the anatomy of the national service personnel.

Before the commencement of the national service, the personnel were well-briefed about their monthly allowance which was fixed at an amount of two hundred (200) cedis. Never were we, the national service personnel, told about any deductions but I strongly think many factored in the possibility of deductions by the banks.

Alarmingly, the National Service Secretariat has taken an unnecessary advantage of the inconsistencies associated with the monetary purse of the National Service Scheme. On a number of times, they deduct certain amounts of money from our allowances without the notice of the national service personnel. They subtract those amounts without offering any explanation to the personnel.

In the first place, the Secretariat lacks the ability to pay us on time and instead of us being paid at the end of each month, it runs into weeks. Since there are no or small invisible channels for us to address our concerns to the Secretariat, most of us tussle a lot of time in readiness of the allowance. And when the allowance is ready too, it becomes a shocker to us since the amount we receive doesn’t meet our expectation. In January, this year, we received almost one hundred and ninety eight (198) cedis.

I can only recall that ever since I started the national service, I have received two hundred (200) cedis, which is the appropriate amount, just once. I also believe I am not the only one who has been disadvantaged but many national servants will attest to this fact.

This corruptible practice on the part of the Secretariat is overwhelming and as a result informed my decision to disclose it in this article. Just maybe, this article would properly articulate my concerns and the plight of the national service personnel at large to the appropriate quarters for consideration.

Many of us are working untiringly to ensure that we give the country our best but these inconsistencies in the scheme are making it difficult for some of us to fully exude our energy and potentials. The National Service Scheme was widely castigated since lots of us have been displaced in fields that would not help, in any way, to upgrade our knowledge base so far as our future careers are concerned. But you talk to parents, government officials and workers who have passed through the phase of the national service before and all that you hear is; “National service is no respecter of persons”.

This ideology is what, I think, forms the basis for the Secretariat to claim what is rightfully ours. They cheat us and find several implausible reasons to buttress their actions. Actions, such as: the Management of the National Service Scheme in the Oil city unanimously embracing E-zwich transactional system and eventually imposing their decision on us without critically assessing the merits and demerits at the expense of the service personnel and also the Secretariat deducting what they claim as “dues” from our allowances without pre-informing us. Dues, they claim, will take care of ailments of service persons and other welfare conditions but they never materialize to see the light of the day.

I therefore find these inadequacies corruptible and would never vouch for them.