President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed his government’s commitment to elevate the National Service Scheme (NSS) into an authority.
He made this announcement during the scheme’s 50th-anniversary celebration held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra on Tuesday.
The President also announced that 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 stated.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the several youth programmes set up by his government under the scheme to harness the growth of the youth.
He also noted that the transformational agenda is tied to the new strategic direction of using the Scheme and other agencies to address the specific employment needs of fresh graduates.
“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.
The President also assured that the finances of the scheme would be restructured, and he applauded the leadership for making an impact over the years.
President Akufo-Addo also indicated that 81,000 jobs are being created in the agricultural and allied sectors under the economic enclave programme in the next four years.
“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 stated.