The Parliament of Ghana has passed the National Service Authority Bill, aimed at revitalizing the national service program and empowering the youth to contribute to the country’s development.
The bill, which received overwhelming support from lawmakers, seeks to establish the National Service Authority as a corporate body with the legal capacity to develop policies and programs that promote national development and employability. The authority will mobilize and post individuals for national service in priority areas, fostering civic responsibility, discipline, patriotism, national cohesion, and volunteerism among the youth.
The passage of the bill is a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to enhance the national service program, which has been in existence since 1973. The program aims to provide opportunities for young people to develop skills, gain work experience, and contribute to national development.
The Executive Director of the National Service Scheme, Osei Assibey Antwi, when he met with the media on Tuesday July 9, 2024, stated;
“If you have a vibrant youth, if you have a youth that has a future, if you have a youth that knows where they are going, if you have a youth that has the policy to guide them, especially at this time that the current management and the board have now moved into a new direction called deployment for employment. This deployment for employment can only be enhanced with this current backing.”
He added that the bill’s passage would empower the authority to generate internal funds, thus supporting the government’s efforts to create employment opportunities for the youth:
“Now, Parliament has given us autonomy, an authority vested with powers in areas where it will enhance entrepreneurship. With this current status, NSS can work to achieve a lot of internally-generated funds to reduce the burden on the central government, and we know the President will assent to it to give it the finality.”
The National Service Authority is expected to play a critical role in harnessing the energy and creativity of Ghana’s youth to drive national development and prosperity.