The National Public Relation Officer for the Coalition of the Nations Builders Corps (NABCO) graduates, Mr Nana Tachie Erick has denied claims by Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken-Ofori Atta implying that the government has provided over one hundred thousand permanent jobs for its members during his presentation of the 2024 Financial Year Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, November 15 2023.

According to Mr Tachie Erick, the statement by the Finance Minister, Mr Ken-Ofori Atta is not borne out of the truth but completely ‘false’.

He noted that the implementation of the Nations Builders Corps by the Government of Ghana as an ad-hoc measure for tertiary graduates ended in 2021.

Mr Tachie Erick indicated that since the completion of the programme in 2021, members of the Nation Builders Corps have been completely abandoned without any streams of livelihood or support from government .

“Trainees are walking aimlessly at the roadside without Jobs. NABCO never achieved its intended purpose as detailed in the 2024 budget”
Nana Tachie Erick

nabco 1 — Some Memebrs of NABCO in March

Government Accused Of Deceiving NABCO Beneficiaries

Again, the National Public Relations Officer for the Coalition of the Nation Builder Corps graduates , Mr Tachie accused the government of mischievously popularising the Nation Builder Corps despite its failures.

He noted that the Nation Builder Corps programme at the time of its completion was in arrears for almost nine months so it is therefore surprising that the Finance Minister, Ken-Ofori Atta made such claims that his government has provided one hundred thousand jobs.

“It’s shameful and utterly dishonest on the part of Government to popularise its own unimaginable failure, it is beyond all human expressions for government to trade on expired, failed ad hoc NABCO policy engulfed with 9months arrears even at the lying tongue promising permanent employment by President Akufo-Addo which has never been materialized. Amount Spent on NABCO should have nothing to do with 2024 budget as made known during the 2024 budget representation yesterday by Ken Ofori-Atta the minister of finance”.
Nana Tachie Erick

Furthermore, Mr Tachie Erick recounted that the career pathway transition process which was instituted under the office of the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to give beneficiaries of the Nation Builders Corps some sustainable jobs did not materialize as planned.

According to him, over 70,000 Nation Builder Corps graduates have subscribed to the Unemployed Youth Alliance’, emphasizing that the Nation Builder Corps failed to achieve its intended purpose.

He thus urged President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party administration to desist from touting any achievement over the Nation Builders Corps.

Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan has indicated that the government’s 2024 budget is not appealing as it won’t help alleviate the current burden on Ghanaians.

‘In terms of the contents, I don’t think there is anything to write home about. Nothing is exciting in the budget. It is business as usual, rhetoric, things they will do. If they haven’t been able to do it in the last seven years, I am wondering how they are going to do it in the one year, now that things are much harder.”
George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan

The Cape Coast South lawmaker indicated he is very optimistic that the National Democratic Congress would be elected by Ghanaians in the 2024 general elections to reset the country’s worsening economic regime.

The Finance Minister Ken-Ofori Atta in his presentation on the 2024 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Ghana in Parliament on Wednesday, November 15 stated that the President Akufo-Addo-led administration has supported 100,000 young NABCO graduates to secure permanent employment which has reduced the unemployment rate in the country.