NSA targets employers hiring without national service certificates
The National Service Authority (NSA) is preparing to embark on a nationwide inspection to ensure that employers in both the public and private sectors have engaged only graduates with valid National Service certificates.
The Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations at the NSA, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, disclosed this in an interview on Joy FM on April 20, 2026, stating that the exercise would extend the authority’s anti-fraud measures beyond payroll verification to workplaces across the country.
“Very soon we are going to embark on an exercise,” Lt Col Kpeungu said. “We are going to reach out to institutions and the HR units that have employed people without a certificate. It is a requirement for employment.”
He emphasised that the directive applies to all employers, including those in the private sector.
“By law, whether you are in the private sector or not, you must do national service. It is an offence to employ somebody without a National Service Certificate,” he said.
Under the National Service Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1119), employers who recruit graduates without valid certificates risk sanctions, including fines, although Lt Col Kpeungu did not specify the penalties during the interview.
Lt Col Kpeungu explained that the exercise would initially focus on education and compliance rather than punitive action.
“We are not saying dismiss them from your institution,” he said. “We need to regularise it. They will be given a window of opportunity to reach out to us, and we will rectify it.”
He noted that some employers may be unaware of the legal requirement.
“There are people who do not know that national service is mandatory. There are others who also do not know that if you are employing somebody, it is a basic requirement to inspect the person’s National Service Certificate,” he said.
The planned inspection is grounded in the National Service Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1119), which restructured the former scheme into an authority and expanded its regulatory mandate.
Lt Col Kpeungu indicated that the NSA currently has 99,508 graduates on active deployment, including newly posted nurses, each receiving a monthly allowance of GH¢715.
He stressed that the initiative is intended to promote compliance rather than create tension between the authority and employers.
“This is not a confrontation,” he said. “We just want to create awareness.”
The NSA is yet to announce a start date for the nationwide inspection exercise.
