Dealing With Unemployment: NaBCo Not Sustainable

Former Director of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has raised questions about the government's job-creation initiatives describing them as unsustainable.

He was particularly unimpressed with the Nation Builders' Corps programme under which government says it has employed 100, 000 graduates in various modules for a period of three years.

Nii Moi Thompson said that government's creation of NaBCo was an acknowledgment of the need to address the employment problem, but insisted that only high economic growth would ensure the creation of sustainable jobs for Ghanaians.

“You cannot address the unemployment problem through government interventions like NaBCo, it is simply not sustainable. It's through high growth that you will be able to do that and yet we are moving away from that and are instead indulging in these projects.”

“Clearly, it shows that the government is aware of the need to address the problem. Is it the best way to spend GHc210m in three years when you are not even sure that they will be employed after? I don't think that's the best way. The declining rate of growth will not support any strategy whatsoever for employment creation.”

His comments come after the Finance Minister announced in Parliament that government had revised its GDP growth rate projections for 2019 to 5.6%

“The 2018 Budget envisaged a 6.8 percent GDP growth rate. However, with the rebasing of the GDP, there has been the need to revise the 2018 growth projection.”

Thus, the overall GDP growth target has been revised to 5.6 percent, taking account of the base effect of the GDP rebasing and half- year performance. Non-Oil GDP is projected to grow by 5.8 percent.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo in October commissioned the passing out ceremony for 100,000 beneficiaries under the NABCO modules which include Feed Ghana, Educate Ghana, Revenue Ghana, Heal Ghana, Enterprise Ghana, Digitise Ghana and Governance Ghana.

The National Coordinator of NABCo, Ibrahim Anyass, assured that the programme is not a duplication of other youth employment schemes like the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).

The recruits will be receiving a monthly stipend of GHc700.

President Nana Akufo-Addo at the passing out ceremony admonished the recruits not to consider the GHc700 stipend as free money but should work hard to earn it.

“You must bear in mind that government is investing some GH¢3 billion cedis of taxpayers' money into this programme. Your monthly GH¢700 is not free money and you must earn every pesewa of it which I'm confident you'll do,” he said.

‘NABCO will succeed’

President Akufo-Addo at the passing out ceremony hit back at critics who downplayed the impact of the NABCo

He insisted the programme will go a long way to partly address the current unemployment situation in the country.

He was also optimistic the country will benefit from the talents of the NABCo graduates.

“As has become the norm with every bold initiative proposed by this administration, this programme, predictably, was not only ridiculed in certain quarters but also met with pessimistic and cynical comments with some going to the extent of urging graduates from our nations tertiary institutions not to register for the programme. In NABCO, we have planted the seeds of growth and future of our country. I am in no doubt whatsoever that NABCO will succeed,” he added.