The Director-General of the National Service Authority, Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, has commended the Ghanaian media for its unwavering support and objective reportage on the Authority’s activities.
He explained that for the past fifty years, the media has played a significant role in the National Service Scheme activities. He encouraged the media to continue to support the Authority in the spirit of mutual respect and commitment to building a better Ghana for all Ghanaians.
Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi made these statements during a media engagement event organized as part of activities for the official transition of the National Service Scheme to the National Service Authority.
The Director-General observed that, for fifty years, the National Service Scheme performed its core mandate of mobilizing and deploying eligible Ghanaians to the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy for national development, and that the Scheme has successfully achieved its expected targets. “However, we need to do more now as an Authority”, he added.
Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi reiterated the need to maintain the bond between the Authority and the media “as we do whatever we can to ensure the development of the country’s youth.”
He noted that some sections of the public misconstrue the activities of the Authority, and regrettably, some sections of the media carry such stories on them. He, therefore, urged the media to be guided by their journalistic principles of “check, cross-check, and check again”, especially when reporting on matters concerning the Authority.
He said some of the issues about national service, especially regarding postings and the attitudes of some of the user agencies that come into the public space are skewed and therefore clarity needs to be sought first from Management before publication.
This, he said, is important because Ghanaians generally are concerned about national service issues because hundreds of thousands of families at every point in time have their wards doing their national service.
Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi said that more responsibilities are placed on the Management and staff, now that the Scheme has become an Authority. He said, “Becoming an Authority means that we need to change our attitudes towards the work we do and be more responsive to the expectations of the general public, especially our major stakeholders”.
He added, “Many of the things that we do must meet the general expectations of the public, especially regarding our deployment exercise, which is our core mandate as an Authority”.
Responding to concerns and questions from the media, the Deputy Director-General of the Authority in charge of General Services, Mrs. Gifty Oware-Mensah cleared the perception that all deployments of the Authority are allegedly done based on “protocol postings” for children and relatives of rich and influential personalities of the society.
She explained that people with special needs and disabilities, married women, pregnant women, and those who are specifically requested by tertiary institutions and other user agencies are usually given special consideration to be posted to specified places. These, however, do not transcend the specifically identified individuals to every person in the posting process.
She urged the media to disregard sensational rumours and always seek the truth from Management to enrich their stories on the Authority. “Our doors are always open for you the media to come verify whatever you need to know, and we will always be here to welcome you and to provide you with the needed information about the Authority”, she added.
Members of the media were grateful for the opportunity offered to them to seek clarifications on their doubts about the Authority and its operations and activities.
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