The 2024 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama has added his voice to calls for the President, Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to settle the arrears of the personnel of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCo) programme.
Trainees of the now defunct NABCo have written several letters to the Ministry of Finance demanding the payment of their nine-month arrears from the government over a year ago when this programme ended.
These letters were replied to by the Finance Ministry which urged them to re-direct their letters to the office of the President.
The Ministry clarified that since the programme falls under the Office of the President, any grievances should be directed through that office.
In a response dated July 11, the Finance Ministry advised the trainees to submit any additional documentation that might support their claims for payment.
Commenting on this at a mammoth rally held after the party’s Get FIT & READY Mahama Walk organised in Accra, the former President urged the President and Vice to settle the arrears of the trainees.
“You recruited young people for the NABCO programme, up till today you haven’t even paid them their arears, Bawumia and Nana Akufo-Addo, I am speaking on behalf of the NABCO trainees, we beg you, they are on their knees please pay them…,” he said.
He further described the high unemployment rate in the country as ‘unacceptable’ adding that he gets alarmed anytime he reads of the massive unemployment in the country.
“Our unemployment rate is unacceptable. It was around 8% in 2016, today it is 14.7% and so we have to deal with the unemployment situation…,” he said.
According to the former President, the country has not succeeded in reducing the employment deficit because ‘all those artificial job creation policies have not worked.’
An example of this, he said, is the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme which was introduced by this administration to provide temporal employment for the teaming unemployed Ghanaian youth.
