Continue to adhere to service ethics to avoid sanctions- JUSAG President

The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has urged its members to continue to adhere to the ethics of the service to avoid sanctions. Mr Samuel Afotey Otu, President of JUSAG, said disciplinary actions had been taken against some staff who went contrary to the code of ethics.  'Let me remind everyone gathered here today that, much as the majority of us uphold high ethical standards in our line of work, there are frequent reports and petitions received concerning indiscipline and misconduct of some staff,' he said, adding that some had been punished for violations. Mr Otu said notable amongst the reports were embezzlement, extortion, suppression of revenue and deposits, teeming and lading. 'These negative practices affect the image of the Service both locally and internationally, and it is time we sit up to reverse the trend.'   Mr Otu said this at the outdooring of a new welfare package for JUSAG members at Tamale in the Northern Region. The outdooring of the new welfare package was joint ly launched by JUSAG and Vanguard Life Assurance Company Limited. The product, dubbed 'JUSAG Funeral Booster Plan', which intends to provide financial support to Judicial Service workers during bereavement, was launched at the High Court in Tamale. The unveiling of the package saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JUSAG and Vanguard Assurance Company Limited. Mr Otu said the policy would ensure that members had a better alternative source of financial support for their funerals instead of resorting to banks and other lending institutions. Mr Otu assured members that the leadership's interest was to ensure better welfare for all, adding that the funeral booster policy was an addition to JUSAG 360 welfare policies, which included JUSCOFund, JUSAG Heritage Cashback, Judicial Service Provident Fund (Tier 3 Pension Scheme), End of Membership Benefit, among others. 'Today, we are also here to launch our funeral booster or bereavement packages in partnership with Vanguard Assurance. We will also provide you with detailed information about the Judicial Service Occupational Pensions Scheme (Tier 2), the performance of the fund and guidelines for members, updates on the draft Judicial Service Regulation (CI) and take feedback from you to make progress. These are all parts of the 50th anniversary celebration programmes,' he said. The National President of JUSAG called for a united front and cooperation from members. Mr Abdulai Yakubu, Vanguard Assurance Company, said the policy provided free insurance cover for members to the tune of GHC 5,000 to cover a member, spouse, two children and two parents. Mr Yakubu said 'The booster package has a premium of GHC5.00 with an additional total benefit of up to GHC10,800.00 covering members, spouses, two children and two parents. With the highest premium of GHC 35, the total benefit cover is GHC 72,000 spread to cover the funeral on the death of a member, spouse, two children and two parents.' Mr Joseph Akanlagm, Northern Sector Area Manager of Nation al Insurance Commission, said the JUSAG and Vanguard Life partnership to share risk, was commendable. Mr Akanlagm admonished both parties to adhere to the terms of the contract for the benefit of members and the Organisations. Source: Ghana News Agency