Trainees of the now defunct Nation Builders Corps (NABCo) are demanding the payment of their nine-month arrears from the government over a year ago when this programme ended.
National Spokesperson of the former NABCo Trainees Association, Eric Takyi, said they have written several letters to the Ministry of Finance and the office of the Vice President however there has been no response to their demand.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Thursday, February 8, Takyi said “Government has not paid us the nine months arrears. It is very sad and very terrible, that there has not been any official communique from any government official, we have written a number of letters or petitions to the NABCO office, to the office of the Vice president, and Ministry of Finance and there has not been been any official communication as to when NABCo beneficiaries are going to be paid.
“They have also not explained what has necessitated the delay in payment of these allowances.”
NABCo was introduced by the government to temporarily address graduate unemployment, officially ended Thursday, September 1, 2022. The programme, which was initially meant for three years, was extended by a year.
The NABCo Secretariat to all trainees said: “Your time on the NABCo Scheme has been valuable and impactful.”
“As you exit with a wealth of experience, there is an added advantage to consider private enterprise as a career option. Your skills development programme will aid your progress under the entrepreneurial YouStart initiative to develop your ideas further into a viable business,” it added.
The message to the trainees said more information would be made available from NABCo and stakeholders in due course.
“Equally on any outstanding stipends, expect any valid payments and notification via the same means after validation and verification (district and your MIP), once all the funding arrangements are concluded, for all who remained at post beyond October 2021.
“We appreciate your time and growth while with us on the scheme and would like to extend our best wishes to you on your future career choices,” the communication to the trainees said.
Presenting the 2022 Mid-year Budget Statement on July 25, 2022, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, told Parliament: “Our iconic Nation Builders Corps programme, which was initially to run for three years and extended for an additional year, will be completed by September 1, 2022.”
The focus of the initiative, which was to engage 100,000 graduates, was to solve public service delivery in health, education, agriculture, technology and governance and drive revenue mobilisation.
In the budget statement, Mr Ofori-Atta said as the trainees exited, the cohort of the programme at the time of the announcement of the end, were encouraged to take advantage of the YouStart initiative and other existing programmes in the government’s drive to build an entrepreneurial nation.
Among other things, he indicated that “the government’s policy is to support dynamic young entrepreneurs to access training and build their businesses and become a significant pool of job providers for their fellow young people”.
The objectives of the NABCo were to provide temporary employment for unemployed graduates, improve skills and employability for transition from the programme to permanent employment, improve public service delivery and “provide the needed infrastructure to promote access to basic public services”.